It’s no small feat launching a global event in a new city – but the energy, creativity, and ambition were all there.

Over the course of the week Monty dipped into everything from Bimini’s live podcast recording (a highlight in itself – unapologetic, funny, and packed with heart) to big-name talks featuring leaders from across tech, culture, and creativity.

Sessions with Fearne Cotton, and Munroe Bergdorf tackled everything from building community and resilience to the future of storytelling.

Elsewhere, panels on AI and creativity, music innovation, and sustainability in fashion showcased the breadth of conversations happening under the SXSW umbrella.

So what did we take away? A few learnings stood out:

• London is ready. The city’s creative and cultural scene has the talent and appetite to make SXSW London a mainstay in the global calendar.
• Community matters. From Bimini’s podcast crowd to packed-out panels, what makes these moments resonate isn’t just the ideas on stage, but the conversations they spark afterwards.
• Foundations are everything. This first edition laid strong groundwork – but the real opportunity is in how it grows and scales in future years. With sharper curation and more international pull, SXSW London could become a defining moment for the city.

For us, the week was a reminder of the power of bringing together different industries, disciplines, and perspectives under one roof. Creativity doesn’t happen in silos – it happens in the overlap.

Well done to the team for making it happen. Here’s to SXSW London growing into something unmissable!