Destination NSW’s reported $12 million deal securing the rights to South by Southwest (SXSW) was lauded as an “unparalleled coup” for Sydney by cultural commentators, music industry heavyweights , and filmmaker Baz Luhrmann when it was first announced in 2022.

Whether SXSW Sydney delivered on the hype , however, was a matter debated long after curtains closed on the inaugural event . As it enters its third year, the film/music/gaming/innovation insert-buzzword-here still can’t quite shake questions of its flaccidity.

Packed rooms and big names (Nicole Kidman, Chance the Rapper) were unsurprising, and a good sign for the first “festival of festivals” held outside of Austin, Texas, since SXSW’s 1987 launch.

But logistical problems (sessions missed due to locations being too

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