The Austin Police Department’s financial staff has estimated that the department will incur $1.5 million in overtime expenses during the 2016 spring festival season, March 10-20. Many, but not all, of these events are related to South by Southwest. In a Dec. 3 memo to the mayor and City Council, Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed […]
SXSW
Organizers of the massive annual festival that takes over the City of Austin each March. SXSW has donated to the Capital of Texas Media Foundation.
Posted inMusic & Entertainment, Public Safety
City may hire temp officers for SXSW season
As South by Southwest and the whirlwind of events that surround it loom large on the horizon, the city and the Austin Police Association are discussing ways to cover the festival season without pulling many officers away from their duties. One potential fix involves hiring temporary law enforcement from jurisdictions such as Travis County, Round […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment, Police
Police association proposes SXSW funding fix
Although it is an economic driver for the city, South by Southwest imposes significant demands on the Austin Police Department, which pulls many of its personnel away from normal duties to cover the event every year. The Austin Police Association is now proposing a fix for next year’s festival, due to take place in mid-March, […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
South by Southwest grows, evolves
In a ritual as punctual as the festival itself, organizers of South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Festival announced that its economic impact on the city of Austin continues to grow. This year, South by Southwest contributed more than $317.2 million to Austin’s economy through the two-week festival in March and year-round operations, according […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment, Public Safety
City plans to cut back event permits during SXSW
On Friday, the city of Austin announced that how they do business during South by Southwest will be changing. The changes come from suggestions made in a SXSW after-action report released in September. That report was commissioned after last year’s event, which in addition to larger-than-ever crowds, also saw the deaths of four people. In […]
Posted inLocal Government
Austin Monitor Radio, Show 19
Monitor publisher Mike Kanin is joined by SXSW brand development honcho Brad Spies to talk about a range of topics related to the festival. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/171244467″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inLocal Government, Public Safety
SXSW reports $315M economic impact on Austin
It probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has lived in Austin for any length of time, but the South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Festival is bigger than ever. That goes for the festival’s economic impact as well, which was $315 million last year, according to an economic benefit study released by […]