There are very few events that can affect major international events these days. As the saying goes, “the show must go on.” But that isn’t the case in 2020 with many major events around the world being affected or cancelled due to the widespread coronavirus pandemic. We were hoping that SXSW (South by South West) would give us some interesting insights we missed from the cancellation of Mobile World Congress in February, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Read: Track the spread of coronavirus using this live dashboard
Many, if not most, of the tech companies that were planning to participate at SXSW in Austin, Texas has withdrawn from the conference as the virus spreads throughout the US. It certainly does seem that the World Health Organisation’s warnings are becoming ever more realised, with South Africa also now confirming its first coronavirus infection.
The list of companies that have pulled out of SXSW is extensive. It includes Mashable, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Intel, Amazon, Netflix, Apple and others. The official statements from the different tech companies aren’t interesting or surprising at all and very much the same. They are all along the lines of Intel’s statement that reads: “After careful consideration, we have withdrawn from on-site activities at this year’s SXSW. We are grateful to SXSW for their understanding and look forward to attending and supporting future events.”
While the coronavirus has now spread to over 80 countries around the world, and we are by no means nearing the end of the crisis, at least there are some good signs. China, where the virus originated and has infected the most people by far, has reported that their daily infection numbers are slowing. It is now less than what it was in January, right when the infection rates started to balloon. Other countries are better prepared than China was at the same stage of infection, so hopefully we can start to see the end of the deadliest outbreak we’ve seen in more than a decade.
