Futurist conference and festival, South by Southwest (SXSW) Sydney has unveiled the first look at its inaugural 2023 event, including location, event formats and badges on sale at early bird pricing.

American futurist, author and Future Today Institute CEO and founder, Amy Webb has also been revealed as the program’s first keynote speaker, alongside a line-up of featured speakers and music acts, including entrepreneur and Colossal co-founder and CEO, Ben Lamm, University of Melbourne School of BioSciences Professor, Andrew Pask, Canva chief evangelist, Guy Kawasaki, cyber security business, Baidam Solutions co-founder, Jack Reis, and many more.

Sydney will be the first city outside of Austin, Texas to gather inspiring thinkers, creators and innovators in the southern hemisphere. The future-focused event will see Asia Pacific’s creative industries come together across content pillars of tech and innovation, gaming, music, screen and culture within a full week program from 15th October to 22nd October, 2023.

There will be a walkable footprint within the Sydney CBD and surrounding suburbs such as Haymarket, Darling Harbour, Ultimo, Chippendale and more, featuring festivals, performances, premieres, exhibitions, meet-ups, speakers, pitches and networking opportunities.

A core part of the event is the SXSW Sydney Conference, taking place in multiple venues including ICC Sydney, UTS and The Powerhouse Museum and more, incorporating more than 400 keynotes, presentations, panels, workshops and mentor sessions. The SXSW Sydney Technology & Innovation Exhibitions will showcase emerging tech and entertainment companies, while the Startup Village serves as a seminal spot for meet-ups, presentations and workspace areas.

SXSW Sydney chair, Geoff Jones said, “SXSW Sydney will be a complete game-changer for Sydney and Asia Pacific. Locally, it will increase visitation and bolster the creative economy. Within APAC, it will facilitate a special connection between creative industries and businesses in the region – the kind that can lead to collaboration and innovation on a global scale. I can’t wait to see the opportunities flow on from October this year.”

SXSW will be supported by the NSW government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

Find out more details here.