Source: COGNITIVE WORLD on FORBES

The COVID-19 outbreak continues to wreak havoc on tech gatherings around the world. Following the cancellation of Mobile World Congress (MWC), Game Developers Conference (GDC), and Facebook’s F8 conference, all eyes are now on Austin to see if South By Southwest (SXSW), one of the world’s largest ideas festivals scheduled to kick off next week, will follow suit.

SXSW has held steadfast in asserting that the show is proceeding as planned, despite a petition of nearly 20,000 signatures to cancel it. Over the weekend, Twitter announced that it is suspending all non-critical business travel and events, following similar actions by Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Twitter has since pulled CEO Jack Dorsey’s keynote and their popular activation, #Twitterhouse, from the show.

In their March 2 press release, not only did SXSW not mention COVID-19 concerns, but announced more speakers were being added to their star-studded roster including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Beto O'Rourke, Rahm Emanuel, Gretchen Carlson, and Andrew Yang, among other political notables. Celebrities still expected to be at the show include Stephen Colbert, Judd Apatow, Will Wheaton, Kim Kardashian West, Reggie Fils-Aimé, M. Night Shymalan, Michael Moore, Shaquille O’Neal, Roger Waters, Julianne Moore, Phantogram, The Struts, White Denim, Sofi Tukker, Angel Olsen, Eliza, and the Delusionals, Japanese Breakfast, Diplo, Nile Rodgers, Britt Daniel, St. Vincent, Michelle Pfeiffer, Brooklyn Decker, Krewella, Erykah Badu, Janelle Monae, Cheech Marin, Stewart Brand, Brene Brown, Katie Couric, Sophia Bush, Tommy Hilfiger, Guy Kawasaki, Laurene Powell Jobs, Anna Wiener, David Rohde, Mike Isaac, Nicholas Thompson, Noam Chomsky, Anita Hill, Steve Ballmer, Jim Belushi, Parker Posey, Shelley Duvall, and Crocodile Dundee.

It’s understandable why SXSW would be loathed to cancel. It’s a massive undertaking that brings together some of the most respected thought leaders in the world to discuss the most pressing problems of our time and has thousands of moving parts. (Read more about why the show is considered so compelling in my SXSW 2020 preview). For that very reason, people are concerned. Over 417,400 people attended SXSW 2019 with 26% visiting from outside the U.S. The show is all about making valuable connections and that’s going to be challenging as fears continue to mount over the spread of this novel coronavirus.

As France grapples with bans of large gatherings which have shut down the Louvre and Japan talks about canceling the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, one has to wonder whether the world has gone mad or SXSW has.

For peace of mind, several travel companies are waiving cancellation fees including Airbnb, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and American Airlines. For now, SXSW is not waiving their $50 hotel cancellation fee, but some hotels booked through SXSW are still allowing cancellations through mid-week. Those concerned should check with SXSW Housing for policies that apply.

Updated March 3: Mashable cancels SXSW Mashable House and MashBash 2020 citing COVID-19 concerns. Tim Ferris cancels SXSW 2020 appearance. Google cancels Google I/O.

Updated March 4: Netflix drops out of SXSW following withdrawals of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Google. Panasonic, Intel, Audible (owned by Amazon) and Arlan Hamilton have cancelled SXSW as well. Petition to cancel SXSW grows to 45,000. SXSW remains defiant announcing a star-studded comedy slate with three sponsors remaining: White Claw, American Express, and The Austin Chronicle (Kia and Audible no longer listed as sponsors). Austin Public Health expresses support for SXSW to proceed. MIPtv is cancelled. TEDTalks considering postponing.

Updated March 5: WarnerMedia HBO and CNN pull out of SXSW. Capital Factory House at SXSW is cancelled. LinkedIn cancels SXSW LinkedIn Studio. Celebrity fallout continues from studio withdrawal.

Updated March 6: Tech conference cancellations continue with Collision 2020 moving its physical conference, announcing its move online. The show hosted 30,000 attendees last year with headliners including Justin Trudeau and Seth Rogen.

Updated March 6, 1:59 pm PT: SXSW has been cancelled following a directive by the City of Austin and a slew of speakers and activations dropping out since Jack Dorsey’s announcement on March 2. Celebrity exodus included Trent Reznor, Spike Jonze, Pharrell, Reggie Watts, Ozzy Osbourne, Chance The Rapper, 50 Cent, Adam Savage, Samantha Bee, Kumail Nanjiani, Bob Odenkirk, Vince Gilligan, Jake Tapper, W. Kamau Bell, Tim Ferriss, Mike Isaac, Arlan Hamilton, and Dan Primack. More details here:

SXSWCity of Austin Cancels SXSW March Events

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Martine Paris

Award-winning journalist covering AI, robotics, space, consumer tech, streaming, e-commerce, security, surveillance, data privacy, fintech, venture capital and startup culture for Fortune, Business Insider, Fast Company, VentureBeat and dot.LA. Follow @contentnow.