Wow... a lot of hate being thrown at SXSW. In principle, I agree totally that it's sad, disappointing and more than a little gross that SXSW would cave in on this issue, but from a practical perspective I can understand it completely. Even as native Austinite it still blows my mind how large SXSW is, and how much it grows each year. It literally spans the entire city. The tremendous influx of people coupled with our notoriously bad traffic infrastructure and nearly non-existent public transit options turns the city into a swamp of humanity for three weeks -- a super fun swamp with a lot of awesome stuff to do, but still a swamp. Oh, and liquor companies almost literally bathe everyone in alcohol. (Thanks, Tito's! You're awesome!)
Also, the core SXSW team is very small and they rely almost completely on volunteers. I've volunteered several times myself, and the security portion basically boils down to verifying wristbands and lanyards with an obsolete Android tablet. They just aren't equipped for anything more serious than that. APD does have a presence at the events, but there again, they're stretched across the entire city that is completely packed with drunk people. If someone did call in a credible threat or if violence did break out, it would complete chaos.
Along with all that, SXSW is already dealing with fallout from safety issues over the last couple years. In 2014 a drunk driver plowed into a bunch of people on Red River St. while running from police. That was a complete horror show. They, along with the city, are also trying to crack down on the 'pop-up parties'. Alleyways, houses, stairwells - basically anywhere where there might be a few open square feet - will have a pop-up party spring up hosted by a band or act that couldn't get an official venue. It's a security nightmare, and a lot of the local population is arguing towards drastically reducing the festival or ending it altogether.
Again, I'm totally disappointed that the panels were canceled and that it wasn't done more gracefully, but I can understand SXSWs position. With the pressure they're under, I doubt they had much of a choice. It really is an awesome event that does a lot of good.
MisterSedition's comments