Crown Prince Haakon to visit Texas on 13-14 March

The purpose of the visit is to promote Norwegian companies and increase their international visibility and exposure. SXSW has become a showcase for some of the world’s most innovative companies and new technology, working in collaboration with the creative industries. Moreover, SXSW provides a unique opportunity for Norwegian entrepreneurs, start-up companies and representatives from the creative industries to show what they have to offer.  

Crown Prince Haakon will be an official SXSW presenter, giving a talk on innovating the Nordic way and solving real problems (see the presentation of the event on the SXSW website). The Crown Prince will present the Nordic model and talk about what motivates Norwegians to start their own companies. Crown Prince Haakon’s programme will also include visits to a number of events in which Norwegians are participating, within the fields of technology, design and music. He will also visit the exhibition areas, and meet the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, and the Mayor of Austin, Steve Adler.  

Since the first time SXSW was held in 1987, as a pure music festival, the event has developed and grown into a large-scale international arena for music, film and technology, in its widest sense. It is probably the largest conference of its kind in the world, attracting  approximately 500 000 participants in 2017. The event has strengthened Austin’s position as a trend-setting city when it comes to the convergence of art, music and digital technology. The festival is a key arena for networking in a range of sectors, and in this respect offers important opportunities for the many companies and players participating from Norway.

Contact persons:

The Royal Palace: Christian Lagaard, christian.lagaard@slottet.no  mobile phone +47 974 74 755
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Linken Berryman, linken.berryman@mfa.no mobile phone +47 957 46 198
Innovation Norway: Pål Thorvik Næss Pal.Thorvik.Naess@innovasjonnorge.no mobile phone +47 473 00 001