SXSW have announced that they have dropped the US Army and defense contractor RTX Corporation as sponsors for the 2025 edition of the festival.This year’s SXSW was overshadowed by decisions related to the festival’s sponsorship.
Many artists refused to play at the Festival in Austin, Texas in March because of the event’s connections to the US Army and weapons companies amid the Israel-Gaza conflict.
These included Gruff Rhys, Kneecap, Sprints, Lambrini Girls, Gel, Rachel Chinouriri, Cardinals and NewDad.SXSW responded to the cancellations in a statement: “We are an organisation that welcomes diverse viewpoints.
Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech.”Explaining its sponsorship with the US Army, SXSW wrote: “The defence industry has historically been a proving ground for many of the systems we rely on today.
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