SXSW London 2026 Unveils Agenda with Lioness Jill Scott MBE Among Headliners

SXSW London 2026 Festival Conference Agenda and Headline Speakers Revealed

SXSW London has officially announced its 2026 Festival Conference Agenda today, March 27, with just 10 weeks remaining until the event kicks off. Returning to Shoreditch for its second year this June, the festival draws inspiration from over four decades of SXSW in Austin, aiming to unite founders, artists, creators, policymakers, and leading voices across technology, business, health, and culture.

Headline Speakers and Key Themes

The festival will feature an impressive lineup of speakers, including Tom Quinn, founder of NEON, Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, and renowned broadcaster and Lioness Jill Scott MBE. These industry leaders will participate in sessions designed to explore critical contemporary issues through six key themes.

AI as the New Power Structure: This theme delves into the sovereignty, control, and accountability of AI systems as they scale, influencing global economies and algorithms. Sessions will assess who holds authority over defining digital technologies and bears responsibility in the algorithmic age.

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Living Longer, Living Better: Focusing on how AI and machine learning are accelerating medical discovery, this theme examines the challenges of translating AI-led breakthroughs into real-world treatments and therapies, reshaping healthcare beyond traditional settings.

Culture Can Save Humanity: Exploring culture's role as a force for progress, this theme addresses complacency in creative industries, the power of music and communities to drive social impact, nightlife's influence on communities, and artists supporting climate action.

Society Rewired: As misinformation and media influence shift free speech boundaries, this theme investigates redundant rules in public discourse, navigating evolving landscapes, activism's role, and leaders defending democratic values against authoritarian trends.

Creativity in the Algorithmic Age: With platforms shaping audience discovery, this theme explores attention as a valuable currency, the obsolescence of traditional marketing models, and how creators design content within algorithmic systems.

Futurism in Practice: This theme highlights frontier technologies like robotics, extended reality, and AI that blur physical and digital boundaries, showcasing breakthroughs from institutions such as ARIA and Google DeepMind.

Expanded Festival Programme

Alongside the Conference, the SXSW London Music Festival will showcase over 200 artists, blending emerging voices and underground scenes with established acts like Tiwa Savage, ODUMODUBLVCK, Rachel Chinouriri, and Circa Waves. The Screen Festival, with its official programme yet to be announced, will feature curated premieres and screenings, offering a platform for rising talent and celebrated names such as Mia Bays, director at BFI Film Fund, and Tom Quinn of NEON.

Katy Arnander, Director of Programming at SXSW London, emphasized the festival's focus on convergence: "SXSW London is centred around the idea of convergence, bringing together voices – even unexpected pairings - in ways that rarely happen elsewhere. This year's agenda takes that idea even further, balancing tension and harmony to cultivate healthy debate and provide insights for business leaders, venture capitalists, and marketers."

Venue and Growth Details

SXSW London represents a ten-year commitment to the UK, with activities centred around Shoreditch venues including Protein Studios, Truman Brewery, and Devonshire Square. The inaugural 2025 edition welcomed more than 25,000 attendees from over 85 countries, featuring 900 speakers across numerous sessions, performances, and screenings. Building on this momentum, the 2026 programme expands the festival's scale and ambition, establishing it as a global meeting point for future-shaping ideas.

Additional Speakers Include: