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When South by South West festival landed in London last summer, it had enormous expectations to live up to. The festival has been a mainstay in Austin, Texas for decades – it always brings in huge names, premiers massive films and sparks worldwide conversations (this year, for example, it was where the all the chat about rock band Geese being an industry plant stemmed from).
With appearances from Erykah Badu, Jane Goodall and Idris Elba and more than 20,000 attendees SXSW’s London debut proved a brilliant success. This June, it’s back for round two. Michelle Obama, Ant and Dec and Brian Eno are among the big names set to grace SXSW’s stages across east London next week. There’ll be discussions about AI, women’s sport, venture philanthropy and so much more, as well as a whole load of live music sessions and exciting film screenings.
Whether you’ve already got your pass or are tempted to pick one up last minute, here’s our comprehensive guide to SXSW London 2026.
RECOMMENDED: The 9 best things to see at SXSW London 2026.
When and where is SXSW London 2026?
The sophomore edition of SXSW is happening from June 1 to June 6.
Lineup
There are far too many people lined up for this year’s event than we can list. We’re talking more than 800 speakers, 200 music performances and 100 film screenings. But here’s a roundup of all the events we’re most looking forward to.
Speakers
The headline speaker at this year’s SXSW London is none other than Michelle Obama. She’ll be on stage will be with her brother Craig Robinson for a live recording of their podcast IMO. Russell T Davies, creator of Queer as Folk, Years and Years and It’s a Sin will be discussing his career; pioneering Taiwanese software developer Audrey Tang will be talking about internet freedom, government transparency and open-source technology and Ant and Dec are lined up to talk about audience building. Other standout speakers include Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, musician Brian Eno, fashion designer Katherine Hamnett and inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee. Have a browse of all the speakers here.
Music
On the music side of things, we’re looking forward to sets from hip-hop pioneer Earl Sweatshirt, indie pop-rocker Rachel Chinouriri and London legend DJ AG. The festival will also see performances from indie rock band Circa Waves, Nigerian singer-songwriter Tiwa Savage and DJ Pete Tong. See the full music programme here.
Film Screenings
Time Out’s film editor Phil de Semlyen has picked out three films in the SXSW lineup that you should look out for. There’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, an ‘ode of slasher movies and queer lust’ starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson; The Red Hangar, a black and white conspiracy thriller and Remake, a poignant documentary by Ross McElwee. Others highly anticipated films include Virginia Woolf's Night and Day, an adaptation of Woolf’s 1919 novel; I Love Boosters, a sci-fi comedy starring Keke Palmer and Over Your Dead Body, a comedic thriller and meta-horror starring Jason Segel and Samara Weaving. See the full screenings schedule here.
How to attend SXSW 2026 in London
There are several different passes you can get for SXSW depending on the events you’re interested in attending. Day passes for access to all events are £330 and a Festival Pass for the whole five days costs £1200.
If you’re only interested in music you can get a wrist band for £79, which gives you standard access to music showcases throughout the week. A single day music wristband is £25. Students can pick up a pass from £100.
You can explore all of the different pass options here.
Are there any tickets left?
Yes, you can still get your hands on a pass or wristband. In fact, as long as passes are still available, they’ll continue to be sold online throughout the event
Venues
Just like last year, the festival will be spread across venues in Shoreditch and east London. The participating venues include:
- The Truman Brewery
- Barbican Centre
- Curzon Hoxton
- Christ Church Spitalfields
- Shoreditch Town Hall
- Here East
- Kobi Nazrul Centre
- XOYO
- 93 Feet East
- Village Underground and Colours Hoxton
- Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes
- Unlocked
- Brick Lane Yard
- 83 Rivington Street
- Juju’s Bar
- Protein Studios
- Devonshire Square
- Fora
- Rich Mix
Timings
Most days, proceedings will begin at 9.30am and the latest events go on until around midnight.
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