Organisers of Austin’s South by Southwest festival have revealed plans to hold the event in person next year, following this year’s virtual edition.

The 2022 iteration of SXSW is scheduled to go ahead from March 11 to 20, with festival officials currently working with Austin Public Health to make it happen.

“We at SXSW are hopeful that once people feel it’s safe enough to return to what will be the new normal of life, there will be a real enthusiasm for getting back to the things that brought them joy or opportunity or just the simple need to be out amongst humanity,” festival organisers said in a statement.

“We can’t wait to bring people together once again to meet and share ideas”.

“I’m very confident that SXSW will look normal, or near-normal next year,” Austin Public Health’s interim authority, Dr. Mark Escott, added.

SXSW held its 2021 festival online this year from March 16-20, with keynotes from the likes of Willie Nelson, Pete Buttigieg, Stacey Abrams, Priya Parker and Charles Yu.

The Chats, Katy J Pearson, The Lazy Eyes and Pillow Queens were among the nearly 100 artists to perform. Notably, this year’s SXSW Film Festival also featured the premiere of Demi Lovato‘s docuseries Dancing With The Devil.

SXSW’s 2020 event was one of the first major music festivals to be cancelled in light of the coronavirus pandemic. It marked the first time the festival had been cancelled in the 34 years of its existence.