A rising number of high-profile companies and speakers have withdrawn from the upcoming South by Southwest music and arts festival amid mounting concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.
Social media behemoth Facebook, tech news outlet Mashable, video-based social media platform TikTok and U.S. chip maker Intel have said they will not participate in the festival in Austin, Texas, that’s scheduled to run March 13-22.
Twitter announced a companywide nonessential travel ban on Sunday, including canceling plans to attend the festival. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s founder and CEO, had been slated to speak at the event.
Tim Ferriss, investor and podcast host, tweeted on Tuesday that he’s also canceling his scheduled appearance as keynote speaker. “I love SXSW, but I don’t believe the novel coronavirus can be contained, and I…