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JOIN THE HACK

CHALLENGES

MASTERS

FAQS

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in collaboration with

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SXSW London 2026 is proud to be hosting a live hackathon. Celebrating the ethos of Beautiful Collisions, we’ll bring together multi-disciplinary teams to answer key challenges sitting at the intersection of creativity and technology. Taking place during the festival within the campus grounds, delegates will be invited to spectate, experience and even participate in the coming together of some of the most diverse and brilliant minds from across Europe as they identify and explore the freshest solutions for future challenges.

The format provides significant opportunity for brands and organisations to support, influence and even curate the outcome of the hack, with a sliding scale of partnership options available.

a curated output

We will create multidisciplinary teams that are diverse in skillset to ultimately result in convergent concepts and solutions.

The teams will be set a challenge and over a set time period will work together to generate ideas, ready to present back to a top-tier panel of expert judges. All of this will be delivered with a sense of theatre, in front of an audience of SXSW London delegates.

The challenge(s) will have ‘Beautiful Collisions’ baked in from the outset. Think songs that come with perfectly blended visual arts on stage. Films that include the audiences. Games that cross-over to the real world.

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taking it on the road

To increase impact, the initiative could expand into a European hack series, taking place in the lead-up to SXSW London 2026. These ‘fringe' hacks hosted in key cities would engage diverse local communities, build momentum across regions and expand the talent pool. There is also an opportunity to theme each individual fringe hack according to particular brand partner objectives / focuses.

Activation cities can be selected in collaboration with the partner, but consider, for example:

  • PARIS

  • STOCKHOLM

  • BERLIN

  • AMSTERDAM

  • COPENHAGEN

Winning teams from each event would automatically secure a place in the final Hack The Future showcase at SXSW London 2026.

The fringe hacks could pull on the creative centre of gravity for each city.

From 31 May to 1 June 2026, on the opening weekend of SXSW London, HACKMASTERS will partner with SXSW and Music Hack Space to host the Future of Creative Industries in Shoreditch.

The event will bring together multidisciplinary teams—creatives, engineers, designers, strategists, technologists—to prototype the future of music, film, fashion, gaming and advertising through three core challenges:

  • What will the fan experience of the next decade feel like?

  • How can AI unlock new dimensions of creative expression?

  • What might live performance look like in hybrid or immersive contexts?

Participants may also develop their own bespoke challenges in collaboration with sponsors and mentors.

I WANT TO...

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AI & The New Human Experience

Gaming & Interactive Worlds

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Society Rewired

HealthTech & MedTech

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Creator Economy

Screen, Story & Sound

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Startup Economy

Frontier Technologies

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Venture

Design

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Fintech & Digital Commerce

Marketing & Advertising

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Unreal Realities

Innovation & Tranformation

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London 2050

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In a time of accelerating technological disruption and cultural transformation, the ability to actively shape our collective future has never been more urgent.

HACKMASTERS, a London-based futures consultancy, has spent the last decade designing proactive responses to this urgency. Founded by Saher Sidhom, the company’s Future Hack methodology transforms speculative visions into testable, actionable realities. From advising governments like 10 Downing Street to collaborating with institutions such as the Dubai Future Foundation, HACKMASTERS operates at the intersection of foresight, design, and systems innovation.

Rather than planning for what might happen, HACKMASTERS works to create the futures we want to live in.

partnership inclusions

Official partnership

  • Official partner of SXSW London 2026

  • Founding member of SXSW London hackathon initiative (inc. opportunity to be presenting partner of Hack the Future)

influence & integration

  • Input into the design of the hack challenge to address a real business challenge (scalable)

  • Embed employees and in-house talent into the hack, with opportunities ranging from participators to mentors and judges

  • On-stage moment for company spokesperson during the hack, with opportunities including opening remarks, host MC and panellist spots

  • Opportunity to take away all outputs produced by the teams during the hack

marketing & content

Inclusion within supporting marketing activity from announcement through to delivery of hack:

  • Pre/during/post collaborative content series, including interviews, podcasts, and documentary-style content

  • In-room branding during the hack

  • Co-host post-hack mixer

  • Co-host SXSW London x Hack the Future breakfast / dinner (curated guestlist of partner guests, hack stakeholders and strategic invitees from the wider SXSW London ecosystem)

  • Usage & IP rights enabling promotion of partnership across partner owned & operated channels

  • Partner presence on SXSW London app & website

conference integration

  • On-stage moment for partner representative within SXSW London official conference programme (ideally C-suite or above)

badges & passes

Suite of complimentary passes (to be used as giveaways, VIPs, internal stakeholders, etc.)

  • By creating your own challenge to accelerate your R&D.

    1. We will recruit a minimum of 3 teams to work on your challenge.

    2. Use the hack as a recruitment tool and vet teams.

    3. Train hackers to use your API / tech.

    4. Leverage exposure to show progress to investors, industry and general public, with our invited media and yours.

    5. Contact us for sponsorship packages at future@hackmasters.co.uk

    • MUSIC HACK SPACE

    A leading platform for education and innovation at the intersection of music, art and technology. Since 2011, Music Hack Space has hosted over 1000  workshops, talks and hackathons supporting creative communities worldwide.

    • HACKMASTERS

    A hacker network specialised in creative tech and experience-led innovation. HACKMASTERS has delivered thousands of hacks across 19 cities over 10 years working for 3 governments, big 4 consultancies, brands e.g. Microsoft 10 Downing Street and Lego. 

Inrerested in sponsoring? let us know

Fill in the form below or email saher@hackmasters.co.uk

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SXSW Showcase

Winning teams are featured in the SXSW London website

Mentorship

Direct access to industry experts and brand partners

Collaboration

Join forces with artists, coders, and designers from around the world

Skill-building

Learn new tools, APIs, and creative technologies in a live, applied context

Festival Access

Connect with the wider SXSW community through badges and shared experiences

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  • Yes, by signing up you agree to commit wholly to attend this event and fulfil the requirements for participation.

  • Designers, Developers, Data Scientists, Musicians, Artists, Leaders.

  • Successful applicants to the hack will be notified on Monday 26th of May, at 17:00 GMT. You will receive this notification on your email, please watch your inbox.

  • You will bring your own laptop work to in a team, follow the structured agenda for the hack, and solve the challenge. You will create a prototype or demo solution and if you pass the down selection process you will join the finalist teams for a chance to win a prize.

  • Once you’ve submitted your application then the organisers will be in touch.

  • Signing up does not guarantee your participation in the hack.

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By registering to participate in this hackathon, you are committing to attending this hackathon for the full duration of the hack. Should you fail to submit the required documents (e.g. end of day summaries, sit-reps, presentations, briefs, etc.) on time, you acknowledge that you stand the risk of being disqualified from the hackathon, and not allowed to participate any further.

You confirm that you will frequently check the DISCORD to stay up to date with the information regarding the deadlines, attendance, and agenda. 

You confirm that you understand and accept the fact some changes may occur to the participant registration criteria and the hack agenda, resulting in your unfortunate disqualification.