Canceled SXSW Festival Will Not Offer Ticket Refunds

Those affected by the cancellation of this year's SXSW festival are not eligible for a refund. Days after explaining that the event will not be taking place due to coronavirus concerns, organizers emailed ticket-holders offering the option to "defer their registration to 2021, 2022, or 2023."

The email reads, "SXSW has to rely on the registration terms you agreed to when you purchased your credential, which acknowledge that SXSW will not issue refunds." Take a look below.

How was anyone suppose to predict an epidemic canceling @sxsw when buying tickets last year. This no refund policy needs to take into consideration that the event was cancelled by the city and a lot of people didn’t decide to cancel their tickets. @sxsw please update your policy. pic.twitter.com/NwljLSkoBZ
— Jillian (@JillianChili) March 9, 2020

On March 6, SXSW announced the event's cancellation via a statement on Twitter. "The City of Austin has canceled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU. SXSW will faithfully follow the City’s directions," the statement began.

"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. We honor and respect the City of Austin’s decision. We are committed to doing our part to help protect our staff, attendees, and fellow Austinites."

Prior to news of the cancellation, a number of studios had already decided to pull out of SXSW 2020, including Apple and Netflix, among many others. The festival was originally scheduled to take place March 13-22.