Jaime Monzon
A musician performs at SXSW 2023.
After activists earlier this 12 months accused Austin’s SXSW competition of being “complicit in human rights abuses,” organizers of the annual gathering revealed that, starring subsequent 12 months, the U.S. Military and arms producers will not be welcome as sponsors.
SXSW brass quietly introduced the change this week on the competition’s FAQ web page underneath the query, “Will the U.S. Military be a sponsor of SXSW 2025?”
“After cautious consideration, we’re revising our sponsorship mannequin,” SXSW posted. “In consequence, the U.S. Military and firms who interact in weapons manufacturing, is not going to be sponsors of SXSW 2025.”
The transfer comes after greater than 80 musical acts and panelists backed out of the movie, music and training competition 2024, which occurred in March. The boycott adopted a protest organized by the Austin for Palestine Coalition, which accused SXSW of facilitating human rights abuses by permitting the U.S. Military and weapons producers BAE Techniques and Collins Aerospace to purchase sponsorships.
“Austin is fed up with the normalization of militarization at SXSW and platforming conflict profiteers who’re making a killing from the genocide in Palestine,” Austin for Palestine wrote in a March 11 Instagram put up.
The Austin for Palestine Coalition praised SXSW’s choice to finish sponsorships from weapons firms and the U.S. Military.
“We commend SXSW for listening to the calls for of the artists,” the coalition wrote Wednesday. “We urge SXSW to provide additional clarification relating to refusing to ask conflict profiteers as exhibitors or audio system.”
The following SXSW will happen March 7-15, 2025.
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