SXSW Sydney returns for 2024

South by Southwest Sydney is back for 2024 with music, games, screen festivals and tech for its second festival.

A centrepiece for global thought leaders, emerging talent, and Hollywood luminaries, last year’s inaugural event saw a long list of heavy hitters descend on Sydney, the global centre point for creativity in Asia Pacific, for a week-long celebration of Tech & Innovation, Gaming, Screen, and Music, with notable standout sessions from Chance the Rapper (celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop), Nicole Kidman, Black Mirror creator Charlie Booker and futurist and AI expert Amy Webb.

The announcements this year feature Rohit Bhargava, Sofia Hernandez, David Warner, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Ryan Patel, Courtney Act, Nakkiah Lui, Simon McQuoid, Esther Nguyen, and with speakers from Atlassian, IBM, The Iconic, The AI Leadership Institute and Balarinji.

Building on this success, 2024 is set to step things up with an inspiring first round of Featured Speakers just announced for the SXSW Sydney Conference:

• Australian astronaut at the Australian Space Agency, Katherine Bennell-Pegg
• World-renowned futurist and authority on global business, politics and corporate governance, Ryan Patel
• Global Head of Business Marketing at TikTok, Sofia Hernandez
• Trend curator and founder of Non-Obvious, Rohit Bhargava returning after his popular session in 2023
• Australia’s eSafety Commissioner,  Julie Inman Grant
• Award-winning Australian filmmaker and director of Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat 2, Simon McQuoid
• Gomeroi and Torres Strait Islander writer, actor, director and publisher, Nakkiah Lui
• Boy, Girl, Artist, Advocate, global queer icon, Australian entertainer and television personality, Courtney Act
• Founder of POPS Worldwide, revolutionising Vietnam’s digital music landscape, Esther Nguyen
• Vice President of Product – AI Platform at IBM, Armand Ruiz
• Australian human rights lawyer and barrister, Jennifer Robinson
• Tennis Australia CEO and Director of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley
• Vice-Chancellor and President of the Australian National University, Professor Genevieve Bell AO
• CEO and Founder of multi-million dollar production studio Spawnpoint Media, Jordan Barclay (AKA EYstreem)
• Group CEO of leading Singapore-based creative agency, The Secret Little Agency, Eunice Tan
• Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Sydney, Professor Mark Scott AO
• Co-Founder of Metaphysic.ai and Codec.ai, Martin D. Adams
• Founder and Chief AI Officer at the AI Leadership Institute, Noelle Russell
• Filmmaker, 2019 Australian of the Year, and Lieutenant Governor of South Australia, Dr Richard Harris SC OAM
• Founder and CEO of Silicon Quantum Computing, Professor Michelle Simmons
• Host of the hit podcast, The Psychology of your 20s, Jemma Sbeg
• Ass. Dean Indigenous, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Professor Christopher Lawrence
• Co-Founder, Andromeda Robotics, Grace Brown
• Resident architect-councilor, HY William Chan
• Mathematician, comedian, raconteur, and conversationalist, Adam Spencer

The first round of games have been selected for the SXSW Sydney Games Festival Showcase which will take over Sydney from 17–20 October. The first wave of game announced today include Blood Reaver (Hell Byte Games, Australia), Curiosmos (Céline and the Darlings, Belgium), Demon Spore (DinoBoss, UK), DICEOMANCER (Ultra Piggy Studio, China), FRUITBUS (Krillbite Studio, Norway), Hyper Light Breaker (Heart Machine, USA), Mystiques (Lemonade Games, Australia), No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi, South Korea), Rose and Locket (Whistling Wizard, New Zealand), and Window Garden (CLOVER-FI Games, Philippines).

SXSW Sydney Chair and TEG Group CEO Geoff Jones said : “After the success of the inaugural SXSW Sydney in 2023,  we are once again inspired by the overwhelming response from the creator communities to participate in the 2024 program.  This is the first of many announcements as we roll out the extensive and diverse range of visionaries & creative thinkers from around the globe that make up the SXSW Sydney 2024 conference lineup”

“SXSW Sydney is about discovery and an opportunity to be surrounded by the best and brightest minds from Tech & Innovation, Games, Music, Screen and Culture. This year’s SXSW promises to be as inspiring as ever.”

Last year’s event was a massive festival that had our team running all over Sydney. With over 1000 events and networking sessions, it was a perfect event to learn more about the industry as well as networking with leaders and peers to help further the creative collaborative space.

SXSW Sydney 2024 Badges are now on sale at a special Early Bird rate (prices rise May 16) with new inclusions for Platinum Badge holders. Learn more and buy your badge today at sxswsydney.com.