South By Southwest London Unveils Speakers for 2025 Debut

South By Southwest (SXSW) London has announced the first wave of headline speakers and music partners for its highly anticipated European debut in 2025.

At this festival of convergence, attendees will hear from industry leaders at the cutting edge of what is new and future-facing alongside some of the world’s biggest talent from across music, film, tech and culture at the inaugural festival in Shoreditch. SXSW London will include everything that attendees have come to expect from SXSW, including talks, music and screen, alongside a focus on new themes, including visual arts and fashion.

Conference

The conference programme presents daring ideas and future thinking at the intersection of tech, creativity, arts and business. Brilliant minds and maverick experts are set to explore an extraordinary convergence of themes across tracks including innovation, society, robotics and AI, offering delegates new opportunities for connection and networking.

Announcing the headline speakers, Max Alexander, CEO of SXSW London, said:

“The names we’re announcing today embody the groundbreaking ideas, creative energy, and collaborative ethos that SXSW London will bring to Europe for the first time. From redefining industries to spotlighting cutting-edge music scenes, this is just the beginning of what promises to be an unforgettable celebration of global creativity.”

The first confirmed conference headliners include:

• Alex Hirschi, Founder/Creator, Supercar Blondie
• Ben Lamm, Co-founder & CEO, Colossal Biosciences
• Callum “Callux” McGinley, Founder & Creator, The notwoways & After Party Studios
• Deepak Chopra, NYT bestselling author and alternative medicine advocate
• Idris Elba, actor, filmmaker, philanthropist, musician and founder of IE7 & The Akuna Group
• James Vowles, Team Principal, Williams Racing
• Jean-Michel Jarre, artist and electronic music pioneer
• Joe Wicks MBE, fitness coach, entrepreneur, and author
• Katherine Ryan, Comedian
• Wyclef Jean, award-winning producer and performer

Music

SXSW London’s Music Festival presents international, underground new music scenes looking at the future of music from the perspective of London. The festival is co-curated by world-class and cutting-edge pioneers who are embedded in different scenes, with each venue becoming a gateway into a different new music movement. Alongside live showcases, SXSW London will host industry meetups, networking and future-forward debate across its Shoreditch venues.

Billboard THE STAGE at SXSW London unveils Tems, the Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and producer, as the festival’s first music headliner. She will take the stage on 5 June 2025 at the Troxy. A limited number of general admission tickets go on sale on 4th March 2025, with a reserved allotment available exclusively for SXSW Platinum and Music Badge holders.

In a world first, Abbey Road Studios will bring Abbey Road: Studio Four to SXSW London – a new concept encompassing live music, inspiring conversations and immersive experiences. Reflecting their core themes of music creativity, innovation and learning, this unique collaboration will highlight the continuing cultural relevance and innovative spirit of Abbey Road for festival delegates.

In addition to the first conference names, SXSW London unveiled the first wave of music partners co-curating stages across the Music Festival, including:

• Abbey Road Studios pop-up space ‘Studio Four’ exploring tech, music and creativity
• BBC Introducing
• BBC Asian Network
• Billboard
• Black Lives In Music
• Clash, Crack, Notion, TRENCH and The Line of Best Fit Magazines
• City Splash Festival
• Dankie Sounds
• HÖR Berlin
• Keep Hush
• Mahogany
• Seoul Community Radio
• Shubbak Festival
• The Blues Project

Screen

Exploring intersections between film, art, and music is the driving curatorial vision behind SXSW London’s Screen Festival. Across a programme of feature films, shorts, music videos, there will also be a curated selection of immersive works.

A meeting point for international screen industries, the Screen Festival will also host conversation-starting panels and inspiring talent talks that speak to the future of screen-based storytelling.

As part of this, the festival will present the first UK film retrospective of Grammy Award-winning artist and filmmaker Jenn Nkiru, including the London premiere of her latest work, The Great North, co-produced by Factory International and MOTHERSHIP.

Additional conference, music and screen headliners will be announced in the coming weeks. Details on the screen and visual arts programmes will be unveiled in future announcements with the convergence of culture and tech a core theme, marking the European edition of the festival as distinct from its sister events in Austin and Sydney.