Austin city officials have canceled the South by Southwest arts and technology festival.
Mayor Steve Adler announced a local disaster as a precaution because of the threat of the novel coronavirus, effectively cancelling the annual event.
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, the county's top elected official, said no one in the Austin area has been found to have the COVID-19 virus. However, South by Southwest was expected to have drawn an international audience into close quarters, posing a serious threat of contagion.
The announcement comes days after several high-profile companies, including Netflix, tech news outlet Mashable, video-based social media platform TikTok and U.S. chip maker Intel, pulled out of the festival.
More than 50,000 people had signed a petition seeking to get the festival cancelled.
The festival drew 73,716 attendees last year, 19,166 of whom came from outside the U.S. Combined with SXSW's gaming expo and education conference, the 2019 event drew 417,400 attendees, organizers said. An economic impact report found it contributed $355.9 million to the local economy.
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus has climbed to 14, with all but one victim in Washington state, while the number of infections swelled to over 200 scattered across at least 18 states, including at least six cases in the Houston area.
The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Brian Vendig, President & CIO of MJP Wealth Advisors, joins to break down Q2 bank earnings and what they signal for markets, investors, and the economy ahead.
Are Gen Z and Millennials done with alcohol? Bacardi's Tony Latham breaks down trends, new preferences, and insights from the 2025 Cocktail Trends Report.
Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian breaks down the battle of summer blockbusters, from Superman to Jurassic World and Fantastic Four and what it means for studios.
VENU CEO JW Roth breaks ground on a 20,000-seat, state-of-the-art amphitheater in Texas—part of a $300M public-private expansion to redefine live music.
Despite healthcare spending cuts, medtech stocks like Edwards Life Sciences, Stryker, and Boston Scientific are rising, especially those serving older pati
The original Birkin bag created by Hermès for Jane Birkin in 1984 is up for auction in Paris. Sotheby’s expects the iconic bag to sell for hundreds of thousands of euros on Thursday.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is taking down antisemitic comments and other “inappropriate posts” made by its Grok chatbot, including some praising Adolf Hitler.
Joby CPO Eric Allison discusses the UAE’s historic EVTOL take off, marking Dubai as the launchpad for global air taxi adoption and Joby’s commercial readiness.
