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SXSW had a brand throughout the Shoreditch district of London.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
South by Southwest (SXSW) can be a well-known event in the United States, but he certainly did not reach the same level of recognition in Great Britain.
“What is this?” asked for a pedestrian passing through a Sxsw London panel.
SXSW is a festival organized in Austin, Texas, each year that brings together big names in music, cinema, art and technology. The organizers brought the event to London for the first time this week, and CNBC threw a jet at the exhibition of what is happening.
Tania Bryer de CNBC led a discussion with the mayor of London Sadiq Khan who, during an opening speech, made the ground for the city as “center for talents, trade, technology and innovation”.
The mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks with the moderator Tania Bryer during the round table “Opening remarks – Welcome to Sxsw London” The first day of Sxsw London 2025 at the Truman Brasserie on June 2, 2025.
Jack Taylor | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty images
Khan has made veiled scales on US President Donald Trump and his trade policies and presented London as open for business.
“So, at the time when there is so much uncertainty and political agitation through the pond, defined by an interior aspect mentality, I will contact international investors, companies and creators to say that London offers you the opposite,” said Khan, according to Deadline.
SXSW is detained in various places in the creative district of Shoreditch which is also close to Old Street, a key technological center at the start of the London starter scene. Shoreditch was taken over by the Sxsw London brand, from murals to signs on lampposts.
SXSW had murals everywhere in Shoreditch, London, who announced the event.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
The big names are present, such as the star of “Game of Thrones” Sophie Turner and the actor and musician Idris Elba. Technologically, the CEO of Google Deepmind Demis Hassabis took the floor, as is Thomas Wolf, co-founder of the artificial intelligence company Hugging Face.
$ 24 of free socks and chocolate
So what did experience look like? The day started with me by picking up my press pass and receiving a SXSW tout-all bag. There was a calendar and a card in there and a Tony’s Chocolonely Brand Sxsw bar.
I went to Shoreditch Electric, a place that I have just discovered who houses the National Center for Circus Arts. I looked at a session where Thomas Wolf of Hugging Face discussed the progress of open source artificial intelligence models and the future of robotics. Open Source is a big problem in AI at the moment Due to the solid performance of these models, especially China, which are free to use.
Shoredch Electric organized some conferences during SXSW London. The courtyard was a place where participants sit in the sun.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
The place was a industrial -style brick building. Just outside was a coffee, which was perfect for sunny weather in London on Monday.
I then headed for the Truman brewery, where the main scene of the conference was. Apart from the entrance, there were a lot of catering trucks and, of course, the displays of major brands of the Ray-Ban sunglasses company and the Polestar electric car company, which has experienced live music throughout the day.
Polestar and Ray-Ban took the opportunity to announce their products during SXSW London, 2025.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
Then there was the official goods store that sold a pair of SXSW brand socks for £ 18 ($ 24) and a t-shirt for £ 30.
After a quick safety check, I was in the Truman brewery in time for a Hassabis session. I decided to try to look at him on stage, but the line to enter was long, even about half an hour before the speech. So I decided to look at it on a screen in the media living room, which had quite decent sandwiches.
The entrance to the Truman brewery where the main scene of Sxsw London was located.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
Have everywhere
AI was certainly a big theme, with companies like Hugging Face, Google Deepmind and even Wayve, a British car startup without driver supported by SoftBank, discussing the future of technology.
Hassabis spoke of general artificial intelligence (AGA), which is generally understood as an AI that is more intelligent than humans. He said that IGI would be “greater” than the industrial and internet revolution in terms of impact on society. He also warned of the need to develop this technology in a responsible manner.
The founder Deepmind also said that over the next five to 10 years, IA tools were going “technically super-free people who are at the forefront of the use of these technologies, but combining it with creativity and other skills”.
“I think they will be able to achieve superhuman things,” said Hassabis.
There was a long queue of participants waiting to go to the next session where the CEO of Google Deepmind Demis Hassabis was about to speak to Sxsw London, 2025.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
There are a lot of big names that occur throughout the week, including R&B Star Tems – but they are too late in the evening and do not synchronize with my alarm clock at 5 am. You will therefore have to look on social networks to see what type of atmosphere these events have.
