Events around the world are being rocked by the coronavirus, not just by once-hopeful fans waiting to make their (often annual) pilgrimage to these events, but also by money lost by the event and surrounding communities. Many promoters and companies putting on these events sink a majority of their annual budget into throwing these large gatherings, and much of it is not recoupable.
Like Ultra, SXSW is not offering refunds to its badge-holders, instead allowing them to “defer their registration to 2021, 2022 or 2023.”
“Any and all payments made to SXSW are not refundable for any reason, including, without limitation, failure to use Credentials due to illness, acts of God, travel-related problems, acts of terrorism, loss of employment and/or duplicate purchases.” Instead, like Ultra, SXSW is allowing badge-holders “to 
While this may seem insensitive or inconsiderate of the tens of thousands of people who were expected to travel to Austin this month, the reality of the situation is much more bleak. SXSW co-founder Roland Swenson told the American-Statesman that the festival did not have an insurance policy that provides it with coverage for cancellation because of “bacterial infections, communicable diseases, viruses and pandemics.” The same is true for many events who never foresaw the effects of a widespread pandemic like covid-19.
In a further statement to the Statesman, SXSW said the company “has been rigorously reviewing our operations, and we are in the unimaginable position of reducing our workforce,” adding, “We are planning for the future and this was a necessary, but heartbreaking, step.”
