'I loved it': SXSW wraps up 2023 conference and festival

AUSTIN (KXAN) — No more red carpets, concerts and conferences until next year: South by Southwest came to an end Sunday.

The closing barbecue and softball tournament concluded the ten day conference and festival with some good food and new connections.

"I get to network with artists from all over the world. Folks, I would never meet otherwise and from LA and the UK," said SXSW performer, Dionel Alvarez.

Record breaking airport passengers

Austin has gone from packed streets to now a packed airport. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport said three of the SXSW travel dates ranked in the top ten for record breaking days at AUS.

The busiest day had nearly 37,000 passengers. One of the people catching their flight back home was Nashville performer Lauren Rose.

"Austin is such a weird town. I loved it," Rose said. "I think South by definitely kind of kicked my career into motion. So I'm grateful for that."

ATCEMS responded to dozens of incidents

Austin-Travis County EMS said it responded to a total of 81 incidents.

They ranged from falls from scooters to two stabbings near Rainey Street Friday night.

A daily breakdown of responses is available below:

• Day 1, March 14
  • 12 incidents
  • 9 patients
  • 2 patients transported
• Day 2, March 15
  • 15 incidents
  • 14 patients
  • 6 patients transported
• Day 3, March 16
  • 14 incidents
  • 12 patients
  • 6 patients transported
• Day 4, March 17
  • 18 incidents
  • 18 patients
  • 6 patients transported
• Day 5, March 18
  • 22 incidents
  • 17 patients
  • 6 patients transported
• Total
  • 81 incidents
  • 70 patients
  • 26 patients transported

Attendance numbers aren't out yet, but SXSW officials said this year is significantly larger than last year based on things like registration numbers and hotel bookings.

Even though the event just wrapped up, there is already limited pre-sale registration for 2024.