SXSW 2020 Cancelled, Sonic Panel “In a New Format” Next Month

Concerns about the coronavirus have claimed perhaps its largest victim to date. For the first time in its more than 30 year history, the South by Southwest festival has been canceled outright.

A statement was made by organizers late Friday afternoon, in conjunction with the mayor of Austin, Texas, amid a simultaneous disaster declaration in the city. Eleven cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Texas, as of the time of this article’s publication.

According to Deadline.com, Austin public health officials were quoted as late as Wednesday saying the cancellation of the event would not necessarily make the community more protected.

More than 100,000 people were expected to attend the festival just on the music side. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the event pumped more than $350 million into the local economy last year.

Some of those attendees were sure to be a part of the Sonic panel at the SXSW. The event’s cancellation has now placed the panel, planned for two weeks from today, in limbo. Certainly the event, as intended, will not proceed as planned. But late on Friday, Aaron Webber took to Twitter to assure fans alternate plans are being made.

A portion of those plans were revealed moments ago on the official Sonic Twitter feed.

The panel’s current uncertain state follows earlier news today of the Sonic movie debut’s indefinite postponement in Japan, where the country is enduring its own troubles with coronavirus. It also means Sega may not be able to ride as well a wave of positive momentum that has flourished in the wake of the movie’s successful debuts in North America and dozens of other countries, with a stage as significant as SXSW so soon after the movie’s release now gone.

TSSZ will bring you every development in the coming weeks concerning the alternative plan details the moment we know more. Follow us on Twitter for bulletins at once, as now appear on a road to revealing the future in April.