Great Britain House At South By Southwest To Display Best Of UK Creativity

AUSTIN, Texas, March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UK creativity and innovation will be on display at the Great Britain House from Saturday 11 March – Monday 13 March, 2017, during Austin's annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive festival.

Over the course of three days, the Brits will take over the venue Speakeasy in downtown Austin to showcase the very best the UK has to offer in the tech, creative, music, and film industries and imagine how technology and innovation can enable a better world, a better future, and a better self.

The UK historically has been the largest international delegation that attends SXSW and this year is no exception. Along with the Great Britain House, the UK will be represented at the SXSW Trade Show and through the long-running British Music Embassy, which will present some of the best new musical talent from the UK at Latitude30.

Joining the UK's Department for International Trade (DIT) as partners in the House will be Arts Council England, British Underground, Business Birmingham, The Culture Diary, Digital Catapult NI, Imagination, Invest Northern Ireland, Manchester, Shell, Sweaty Betty London, UK Science & Innovation Network, and the Welsh Government.

Highlights of the program include:

• Interactive "make your own chatbot" workshop with BBC Connected Studio
• Three rounds of The Tech Off, the "love child of TED Talks and WWE"
• Showcase of digital and immersive technology companies from Northern Ireland
• UK Science and Innovation Network workshop on the future of Internet of Things in cities
• A deep-dive on how to keep innovation alive with Shell
• Explorations of the impact of AI on art and artists with Arts Council England
• Sweaty Betty London active wear pop-up shop, juice bar, and morning workout sessions
• An always-open tea lounge, with beverages from Yorkshire Tea, and more...

As part of the proceedings, 17 trade mission companies will travel to Austin to represent the UK's creative talent and participate in the networking and learning opportunities SXSW is known for. In addition, Arts Council England and international cultural curator British Underground will lead a landmark business-focused group of 9 delegates sourced from a range of arts disciplines with a strong focus on digital and tech.

"The UK is home to cutting-edge innovators and tech businesses. I'm delighted we are creating this wonderfully innovative platform, transforming an Austin downtown bar into a showcase for the very best of British," said Dan Rutstein, Regional Director for the Department for International Trade.  "These UK companies will help us imagine the possibilities for our future and our world. And for US companies looking to grow internationally, they will hear about the UK's business-friendly environment from panellists, participants and from UK Trade Minister Greg Hands. Come and see us, we'd be happy to offer you a whisky, gin or cup of tea!"

Full schedule of events and profiles of the UK companies available online at www.ukinaustin.com.

Event Details

Great Britain House
Saturday, 11 March – Monday, 13 March, 2017
Speakeasy, 412 Congress Avenue (map)

UK Trade Show Stand
Sunday, 12 March – Wednesday, 15 March, 2017
Austin Convention Center, 500 E Cesar Chavez St (map)

British Music Embassy
Monday, 13 March – Saturday, 18 March, 2017
Latitude30, 512 San Jacinto Blvd (map)

Full schedule of events available online at www.ukinaustin.com.

About Department for International Trade
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has overall responsibility for promoting UK trade across the world and attracting foreign investment to our shores.

At SXSW and elsewhere over the coming months DIT will be working with business partners and others to facilitate meetings between international buyers and relevant UK exporters to promote the UK's most innovative and exceptional products and services.

The GREAT Britain campaign is the UK Government's most ambitious international promotional campaign ever and showcases the very best of what the country has to offer to encourage the world to visit, study and do business with the UK. GREAT is active across 144 countries worldwide and unites HMG's promotion of the UK overseas – more than 20 Government departments and ALBs – under an effective and widely recognised brand. Launched in 2011/12, the GREAT campaign has already generated returns of £2.2 billion for the UK economy, with a further £2.1 billion currently being audited and more to come from the current activities. For more information, please visit great.gov.uk

SOURCE UK Department for International Trade