
SXSW Cancelled Due to Coronavirus - estreeper
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/06/sxsw-cancelled/
======
ProfessorLayton
One interesting tidbit here is that the mayor made the call to cancel the
event, not SXSW themselves. I understand the organizers stand to lose _a lot_
from cancellations, but this still seems like bad optics.

Unrelated, but I have three big events I booked long ago that I'm either
becoming weary of attending, or fear that they will be cancelled and I'll be
on the hook for the hotel and other accommodations. One of them is at SF chase
center (19K capacity) and SF recently announced infections. Not a good time to
be a fan of live events.

EDIT: Here's an interesting twitter thread that gives an isight into what
smaller event organizers are going through due to the coronavirus
[https://twitter.com/jessiechar/status/1235685514667126786](https://twitter.com/jessiechar/status/1235685514667126786)

~~~
cloakedarbiter
Here was SXSW's statement on the cancelation.

> The City of Austin has cancelled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU. SXSW
> will faithfully follow the City’s directions. We are devastated to share
> this news with you. “The show must go on” is in our DNA, and this is the
> first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now
> working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation. As
> recently as Wednesday, Austin Public Health stated that “there’s no evidence
> that closing SXSW or any other gatherings will make the community safer.”
> However, this situation evolved rapidly, and we honor and respect the City
> of Austin’s decision. We are committed to do our part to help protect our
> staff, attendees, and fellow Austinites.

[https://www.sxsw.com/2020-event-update/](https://www.sxsw.com/2020-event-
update/)

~~~
Trasmatta
I find their statement a bit irritating...they're basically saying "if it
weren't for the city, we would have still done it, screw any consequences".

~~~
true_religion
I think when it comes to public crisis, decisions like this should be made by
the public as a whole, and in a democracy that means the elected government.

Private individuals shouldn’t have to parse health statistics or educate
themselves to the level of virologists. Instead the government should do this
work, and issue a decree. If not this, then when will government be useful?

------
excerionsforte
SXSW was really bent on going through with this massive event even though
smaller events were being cancelled. The spread would likely happen through
multiple contacts in airports and since there is a delay in symptoms if any,
SXSW woould, in the worst case, been a super spreader event. You could bet
lawsuits would have rained on them and likely the City of Austin.

Sometimes, you just got to say no, we will not contribute to spreading this
disease inadvertently and take the hit. SXSW organizers are unbelievable.

To the people only thinking of themselves about this just being a "flu", I
read this yesterday:
[https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/1235015662117908481](https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/1235015662117908481)
It is not just about you. He pulled out of events because he wanted to limit
contact to avoid spreading it to a vulnerable loved one.

~~~
bg4
I thought they were waiting for the city to cancel it for insurance reasons.

~~~
randall
That will be what seems to have happened.

~~~
titanomachy
Thank you, Dan Streetmentioner.

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cryptozeus
“Cancelling SXSW represents about $350M in lost revenue for the city of
Austin. This is an enormous act of civic responsibility”

------
AdamJacobMuller
I'm speculating their insurance coverage only kicked in if they were forced to
close.

~~~
adrianmonk
An article from "Variety"
([https://variety.com/2020/music/festivals/coronavirus-
ultra-s...](https://variety.com/2020/music/festivals/coronavirus-ultra-sxsw-
coachella-cancel-insurance-city-1203525667/)) covers exactly this and agrees:

> _But he understands the hesitance to cancel — because even if most major
> promoters probably spent extra to have communicable disease provisions in
> their cancellation insurance, it wouldn’t likely kick in if they made a
> unilateral decision to cancel without the city forcing their hand to do so._

In the above, "he" refers to an "entertainment manager" at an insurance
company. Doesn't sound like firsthand knowledge, but it's still a very
educated guess.

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cryptozeus
No refunds will be given

“#SXSW replied me saying they won't refund me Frowning face or exchange for
2021. For Brazilian standards the price of the ticket is VERY expensive and
I'm cancelling my trip due to concerns related to coronavirus. I think they
should refund me and the participants that decided not to attend”

~~~
jmvoodoo
I'm sure if you used a credit card you'd have no problem getting an
involuntary refund from SXSW. After a few thousand of those I'm sure their
stance would change.

~~~
wuunderbar
You only have a 3-6 month window with most credit card providers to be able to
initiate charge backs.

So it very much depends on when you bought the retail ticket.

~~~
redis_mlc
There's a myth that chargebacks are automatic or easy.

You have to make a chargeback complaint, have that investigated, get approval
from your issuer, then wait for a refund.

~~~
errantmind
Sometimes it is pretty easy (Chase). I did a charge back on my card with the
click of a button 'Dispute Charge'. I received a refund almost immediately and
the dispute was sustained

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halfmatthalfcat
It was only a matter of time and happening all over the country. F8, GDC,
HIMSS, Ultra Music Festival, etc etc. Its for the greater good.

~~~
birdyrooster
It's all about the greater good.

~~~
jgalentine007
The greater good...

------
RegnisGnaw
Interesting that the official announcement makes no reference to refunds of
tickets.

~~~
cryptozeus
They are not refunding, saw few threads on twitter about that.

~~~
shreyshrey
What? How can they do that?

~~~
jameslevy
Perhaps they will offer a choice between a voucher for next year's event, or
some type of (partial) refund.

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fourmyle
Can’t wait to buy hospitality stocks in a few months.

------
drcongo
How does an article on _Techcrunch_ of all things get more upvotes than the
official announcement?

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xwdv
WWDC will also be cancelled.

~~~
AdamJacobMuller
Very likely, but, I don't think they have to announce that yet. We're 2 months
out.

~~~
xwdv
Nothing will happen in 2 months that suddenly makes it safe to hold an event
of that size attended by developers from all across the world. It’s over.

~~~
positr0n
What about summmer? Honest question that I haven't seen discussed enough to
form an opinion on. Flu and the common cold are drastically curtailed by late
spring and it seems reasonable that coronavirus spread _could_ also
dramatically slow until the season starts again this fall.

~~~
bcrosby95
The only answer you're going to get out of someone that isn't talking out
their ass is: hopefully it will be curtailed by summer, but we don't really
know. And keep in mind that summer in some places is winter in others.

~~~
davidw
Relevant: [https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/06/its-a-false-hope-
coronavirus...](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/06/its-a-false-hope-coronavirus-
will-disappear-in-the-summer-like-the-flu-who-says.html)

No one knows.

~~~
DaveEM
There is data on the flu and COVID-19 from parts of the world that are in
summer vs. winter. As the situation evolves further this data should enable
making a better educated guess:

Influenza:
[https://www.who.int/influenza/surveillance_monitoring/update...](https://www.who.int/influenza/surveillance_monitoring/updates/latest_update_GIP_surveillance/en/)

COVID-19:
[https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5b...](https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd)
(linked from [https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-
coronavirus-2...](https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-
coronavirus-2019))

------
zaroth
I think it's very interesting the disproportionate reaction that a virus or
disease gets versus any other number of things that people risk their lives
doing on a daily basis. Particularly for lesser known viruses or diseases
which our brains haven't acclimated to.

The CDC estimates that 31 million Americans caught the flu this year,
resulting in about 200,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 - 30,000
people have died this season from flu-related complications. So as a rule of
thumb you could say 10% of America infected, ~1% of those people are
hospitalized, and 10% of _those_ people die. Every year.

Do we close events during the winter because of the flu? Of course not. We
would never be able to have a winter-season event ever again. The flu
_vaccine_ is not particularly effective, some years it's even almost entirely
_ineffective_ , although most years about 50/50...

I'm still of the (clearly unpopular) opinion that the response to COVID is 1
part science, and 3 parts hysteria.

At the gym today I heard a great saying. Almost 3 million people die every
year from obesity. Maybe instead of yelling at everyone to wash their hands,
we should be yelling at everyone to eat a damn salad. SXSW is substantially
less hazardous to the public health than McDonalds.

Why is the response to this coronavirus so hysterical? You could come up with
any number of fatality stats that have taken more lives since January than
COVID-19. Lower respiratory infections (not COVID related) kill approximately
200,000 people a month. Malaria kills 50,000 a month. Even just driving kills
100,000 people a month.

Rather than thinking SXSW organizers are unbelievable for not canceling, I
think that the Mayor/City of Austin is unbelievable _for_ canceling. Anyway, I
just got back from a trip to Orlando, and Disney World and Universal, while
not packed, certainly seemed busy.

The CDC should do what they are setup to do; ensure that testing is both
cheap, accurate, and readily available, that people are educated about how to
reasonably decrease their chances of catching a virus, teach how to manage a
mild infection and self-quarantine, and when to seek medical attention. IMO,
we don't need to tank the world economy in order to do this.

