Coronavirus Forces SXSW Cancellation: Here’s Why

AUSTIN, TX — South by Southwest, the annual media festival held in Austin, has been canceled for the first time in its 34-year history amid fears of the new coronavirus known as COVID-19, city officials announced at a press conference Friday.

After consulting with health officials and other authorities, "I've gone ahead and declared a local disaster in the city, and associated with that have issued an order that effectively cancels SXSW for this year," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said. Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt also signed a companion declaration applying countywide, she explained during the press conference.

While there have been no confirmed cases of the virus in Travis County so far, COVID-19 cases caused by community spread have been diagnosed in communities across the U.S. That and other data related to the outbreak informed the decision to cancel the event, Adler said Friday. Once health officials were consulted, the mayor said he decided to issue the declaration of local disaster.

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Prior to the announcement by Adler on Friday, a growing list of big-name attendees, including Twitter, Facebook, IBM, Netflix and TikTok, had already announced that they would be pulling out of the conference over coronavirus fears.

In a statement, SXSW organizers said the city had canceled the festival scheduled to take place March 13-22: "We are devastated to share this news with you," SXSW said in a prepared statement. "'The show must go on' is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working though the ramifications of the unprecedented situation."

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The move to cancel the event represents a 180-degree turn from an assessment voiced by local health officials just two day before Friday's press conference.

"Right now there is no evidence that closing South by Southwest or other activities is going to make this community safer," Dr. Mark Escott, interim medical director and health authority for Austin Public Health, said during a Wednesday press conference. "We are constantly monitoring that situation. We've asked an expert advisory panel to evaluate that. And if there's any evidence that our community will be safer by closing down public events, we will do that. We expect in the future that there may be modifications based upon the threat of this disease."

Asked about the sudden reversal in assessment, Escott on Friday said expert opinion prevailed in triggering the decision to suspend the event even absent conclusive evidence of the efficacy of inhibiting mass gatherings as a tactic to prevent the spread of disease. Last year's SXSW event drew more than 417,000 attendees, officials previously reported.

"This is an effort of carefully considering and weighing the risk of introducing a spread of COVID-19 as well as the mitigation strategy of canceling the event," he said. "We have to weigh what's the impact of the potential threat of spread, and what's the impact of the decision we make to cancel the event because that can certainly have health consequences."

In the end, Escott said, local officials deferred to expert opinion in making the decision to cancel the massive festival. "What we know is there's a lack of conclusive scientific evidence that cancelling mass gatherings will change the overall impact and spread of disease over time," he said. "However, there is evidence that it may accelerate the spread, and it may make that happen sooner. This lack of conclusive evidence is clear from the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and the DSHS [Texas Department of State Health Services] response, which is then to defer to local government. So when we don't have scientific evidence to inform us what the best decision is, we look for best practice, and when we don't have best practice, we look to expert opinion. And that's exactly what we did."

Even while the announcement to cancel the festival was made, Escott urged residents not to panic. He likened the COVID-19 threat to an approaching hurricane of unknown ferocity, and municipal action in cancelling the event to proactive steps in safeguarding the populace.

"I want to start off by saying we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Travis County," Escott said. "Having said that, the COVID-19 threat is growing across the United States and that threat is growing locally because of what's happening across the United States and across the world. But now is not the time to panic," he continued.

"Now is the time to prepare, and to provide a measured response to that threat. This is not unlike a hurricane looming in the gulf. We know the hurricane is advancing slowly; we can see the storm clouds starting. What's not clear is how strong or how impactful that storm will be."

Earlier this week, Austin Public Health officials revealed they had expanded their testing for COVID-19 in adherence to updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Whereas testing initially was triggered only on those returning to the U.S. from travel abroad at places of high COVID-19 concentration, federal health officials later directed local health agencies to test others showing COVID-like symptoms — even if they hadn't been in other countries where the respiratory ailment is prevalent.

"We are following CDC criteria," Austin Public Health spokesperson Jen Samp told Patch in an earlier interview. "Their criteria used to be heavy travel, but it doesn't include travel anymore. We have now expanded our testing, especially in flu season. If they [patients] don't know who their point of contact was, or don't know where they got it from, then we're going to test."

Samp said at the time the first test already had been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing, and the results would be received in 48 hours' time. Asked about that test on Friday, Escott said it turned out negative. But he added that health officials are poised to apprise the public only if further tests turn out positive.

The SXSW cancellation represents a monumental financial hit for the city — and for the scores of businesses relying on the annual event for added revenue. The event draws millions of visitors in an influx of potential new customers for businesses across the city. SXSW officials previously estimated last year's version of the event translated into a local economic impact of $355 million during its two-week run.

Civic officials reacted to the development as news about the cancellation spread:

• Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mike Rollins: “We respect the city and county’s decision to issue a state of emergency in response to COVID-19. Our thoughts are with the many small businesses in Austin that depend on major events like SXSW to keep their doors open.”
• Austin LGBT Chamber Executive Director Tina Cannon: "It is with great sadness that I must deliver the news if you haven't heard it by now, that the mayor of Austin has issued an order canceling the SXSW Festival for 2020. As of just two days ago, the city's own health officials stated that 'there is no evidence that closing or any other gatherings will make the public safer.' This unforeseen circumstance is obviously out of our control, and not our desired outcome. Our thoughts are with the many small businesses and their workforce in Austin that depend on major events like SXSW to keep their doors open."

Throughout the City Hall environs, signs of the COVID-19 threat were seen. Outside the City Hall room where the press conference took place, signs of the coronavirus threat were seen. Affixed to the door of another meeting room was a placard containing detailed instructions on hygiene:

Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.

Stationed at the entry of Room 1034 inside City Hall — the "News Conference Room" where the cancellation news were delivered — an antibacterial station was installed for easy access:

Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.

Outside the building, sunny skies and spring-like temperatures hovering at 70 degrees — otherwise ideal climate for a outdoor festival — belied the growing COVID-19 danger. Just a few blocks from Austin City Hall on 2nd Street where the press conference took place, the city was decked out in preparation for the highly anticipated annual festival. Along the popular 6th Street corridor — lined with bars and nightclubs that draws scores of revelers each weekend — the familiar banners denoting venues staging SXSW-related events had already been installed by merchants eager to draw a new influx of patrons visiting Austin from elsewhere a week before the festival's launch.

Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.

Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.

But along the way, telltale signs of the looming COVID-19 threat could also be seen in close proximity and in juxtaposition to the festive banners just a stone's throw away. Buttons on street light poles — veritable petri dishes for germs given the countless contact by pedestrians — were wrapped in saran wrap to avoid the potential spread of virus contamination.

Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.

Residents and others scheduled to have attended SXSW 2020 were directed to call the local information line of 3-1-1 or (512) 974-2000 with any questions related to the cancellation.