Coronavirus or the COVID-19 has spread throughout the world in a span of four months since the virus first discovered in Wuhan, China last December 2019 and has caused deaths and cancelations of major events.
The latest big event to be called off is the SXSW or the South by Southwest on Texas, a music, tech and film gathering. The announcement came from Austin Mayor Steve Adler after public concerns have been raised.
In a petition posted at Change.org, the call for the cancelation of the event received over 55,000 signatures which sprouted another strong case for pulling off the event.
Originally, the 10-day festivities were scheduled to start on March 13 and is expected to end on March 22 where thousands of people flock the downtown area of Austin every year.
It was also confirmed by SXSW in an update they issued on their website, saying that they are “committed to do our part to help protect our staff, attendees, and fellow Austinites”.
This is also the first time that the event was canceled throughout its 34-year history which started as a music festival and eventually grew as a tech and film gathering as well.
The organizers stated a possible reschedule of the said event later this year and a virtual online experience for participants in hopes of making up to the loyal participants.
Before the official announcement came, major participants like Apple, Facebook, Intel, Mashable, and TikTok have stated that they will not be on site to engage during the event.