After a massive debut this summer, SXSW London has been confirmed for another year. Find out what’s coming in 2026.

It’s official, SXSW London will return for a second year, running from 1–6 June 2026. After a debut in Shoreditch earlier this year, which drew artists, entrepreneurs, filmmakers and innovators from around the world, the festival is set to expand for 2026.

This year the festival hosted a number of events across six days, during which audiences experienced more than a thousand speakers, hundreds of live music performances, and over a hundred screenings and premieres. The programme was vast, spanning intimate gigs, cutting-edge tech showcases, fashion and design installations, interactive art, and a conference that tackled everything from artificial intelligence to sustainability. With venues scattered throughout east London, the event captured the energy of both the city and the wider creative industries it brought together.

Organisers have confirmed that the 2026 edition will once again be built around three central strands: Conference, Music and Screen. Submissions for all areas are now open, with artists, filmmakers and innovators encouraged to apply. As in Austin, the public will play an active role in shaping the festival’s direction through a community voting system, giving emerging talent the chance to share a space with established voices on a global stage.

While specific line-ups and venues are still to be announced. SXSW London will continue to explore the creative and tech industry, with a spotlight on artificial intelligence, immersive realities, new experiences and other future-facing themes. Alongside these discussions, the festival promises another eclectic programme of live performances, screenings and premieres that will make London the centre of the creative world for one vibrant week in early summer. Tickets are due to go on sale from 20 October 2025.

London has long been recognised as a global hub for music, film and fashion, but SXSW offers something broader, a collision of ideas across industries, encouraging collaboration between artists, entrepreneurs, technologists and policymakers. For the UK and Europe, it provides an accessible counterpart to the long-running SXSW in Austin, Texas, while giving local talent the chance to shine on an international stage without crossing the Atlantic.

If 2025’s debut was about proving the concept, 2026 looks set to be about growth, momentum and identity.

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