Tumbalong Park
Free
After two successful launch seasons, the Texas-born multidisciplinary festival of music, tech, film, games and innovation is coming back to the Harbour City, with SXSW Sydney 3.0 set to be a biggie. Alongside the line-up of talks, panels, workshops and showcases open to SXSW pass holders, this year’s event also features a huge free program which is open to the public. Here’s the lowdown on SXSW Unlocked.
Running throughout the festival (from Monday, October 13 until Sunday, October 19), the official public program for SXSW Sydney will transform Tumbalong Park into a (free-to-access) cultural playground, with more than 85 hours of live performances, talks, film screenings, gaming sessions and fashion and tech-focused events.
Highlights of the public program include lunchtime talks, an incredible First Nations creative showcase and a series of live performances spanning multiple genres: from J-Pop to country. Plus, this year will see the festival’s impressive Innovation Expo and immersive Games Expo open to the public for the first time on Saturday, October 18.
While most of the events mainly appeal to Sydney’s adult population, there’s a lot of family-friendly fun scheduled throughout the week too – from kids rock gigs to interactive exhibitions.
If you’re keen to nab a freebie (on top of the free entertainment), you can explore the interactive brand hubs which will be offering giveaways throughout the week.
You can learn more and plan your free SXSW experience over here. Keen to go deeper? You can check out the full SXSW program and buy passes over here.