This is from google AI search:
South by Southwest (SXSW) was widely recognized as the first major public event to be officially canceled in the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 6, 2020, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County officials declared a local state of disaster and issued an order formally calling off the massive technology, music, and film festival. The event was originally scheduled to run from March 13 to March 22, 2020.
The decision marked the first cancellation in the festival's 34-year history. It followed an avalanche of high-profile corporate withdrawals from major participants, including Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon.
Shortly after the cancellation of SXSW, a domino effect triggered the suspension and cancellation of other major American institutions, including:
* The NBA season
* NCAA March Madness
* The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
References:
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/06/813023174/the-show-will-not-go-on-sxsw-cancelled-because-of-coronavirus
https://variety.com/2020/music/news/sxsw-canceled-coronavirus-2020-austin-1203526422/
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/06/sxsw-cancelled/
