Nicole Kidman, Baz Luhrmann and Chance the Rapper will join business leaders from Canva, Atlassian and Tesla at Sydney’s upcoming South by South West festival, a first for the harbor city that’s struggled to reverse years of Covid closures and grappled with restrictive night entertainment laws.
The event, which starts Oct. 15 and is the first iteration of SXSW to be held outside North America, is expected to attract around 27,000 visitors to the and inject A$24 million ($15.4 million) into New South Wales state economy, according to the government.
“I really do feel like Sydney needs this after Covid particularly it’s just been a little bit tough for the creative industry,” said Emilya Colliver, founder of digital arts platform Sugar Glider Digital, who is speaking at the festival.
Arts and recreation in Australia was the second-hardest hit industry behind accommodation and food during the pandemic, and also much slower to recover. But long before Covid, as far back as 2014 when Sydney introduced lockout laws to snuff out alcohol-fueled violence, many bars and entertainment venues shuttered. In 2021 Sydney’s first 24 Hour Economy Commissioner was installed in a bid to make its nightlife more diverse and vibrant, while prioritizing attracting major events, art installations and live music.
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The city’s already notched up some wins in 2023, hosting global events including World Pride and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. World Pride contributed an estimated $119.2 million to the NSW economy, with 21,000 international visitors, according to analysis from Deloitte. Meanwhile, the Women’s World Cup was responsible for a $1.9 billion rise in travel and retail spending in NSW, the state government said.
Events like these are key for the tourism sector, which hasn’t fully recovered from the pandemic, said James McIntyre at Bloomberg Economics. “While education exports have recovered, business and personal tourism exports remain 30-40% below pre-pandemic levels,” he said.
Australia recorded a total of 625,120 short-term international visitors arriving in July, more than double the same month last year but nearly 21% below its 2019 level, according to government data.
The recovery may face headwinds, with Australia’s $1.5 trillion economy, and many others, slowing down under the weight of high interest rates and inflation.
Despite economic concerns, the resurgence in live entertainment has been particularly pronounced over the past year, said Geoff Jones, who is Chief Executive Officer at Sydney-based TEG Pty Ltd, the live entertainment company which struck a deal to produce SXSW in Sydney for the next ten years.
“Live entertainment is pretty buoyant still in a tough economic environment,” Jones said.