Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt at the premiere of The Fall Guy during SXSW 2024

« I hope you realize that you didn't come to a concert, but a developer conference! ". This is how the undisputed star ofGenerative AI, Jensen Huang, CEO of global semiconductor leader Nvidia, spoke last month in front of 11 people at his highly anticipated new product launch event at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. At this first event since the pandemic, the businessman was delighted to see a packed arena, usually more frequented by Justin Timberlake groupies or fans of the local hockey team. Inspired, the CEO continued his momentum, continuing the metaphor, not without a certain irony, about his male fans looking like " swifties “, he insisted, with a wink to Taylor Swift. While most of the big tech fairs play the entertainment game, promising, to attract the crowds, a drop of celebrities and a slew of concerts, no show case from the American icon on the program today - there. But one and only star in sight: the Nvidia electronic chip. Or rather its 2024 model: the Blackwell super chip, 30 times more efficient.

But not everyone is lucky enough to occupy the top spot in the most strategic market of the moment. Since the health crisis, attendance at major international fairs has stalled, after the all-digital editions of 2021 and the cascading cancellations of 2022, such as at CES in Las Vegas, after the explosion of Omicron contaminations. Organized every year at the beginning of January, the most prominent trade show on the Strip has always been this great mass of geeks, a huge gadget fair. It was on its stage that innovations such as the VCR in 1971 and the DVD in 1996 were presented... However, the mega fair that had more than 4 exhibitors, 000 visitors and 180 journalists before the pandemic, where you could meet Stevie Wonder in the aisles, or attend a conference by Neil Young or 000 Cent, seems to have lost its hype... Less exuberance, fewer products too. But we are in the United States: " the show must go on!» Including act. Last January, with great support from line up star-studded, red carpet and “ name dropping » sparkling, technology and Hollywood have joined forces! Who better than Iron Man, aka Robert Downey Jr, to embody this communion. The American actor, Oscar winner for his supporting role in Oppenheimer, made the trip to Vegas, just like Evan Spiegel, ex-NBA star Blake Griffin and even the rappers from Wu-Tang Clan. Will.I.Am was also seen taking to the stage along with Shelly Palmer and celebrity chef Esther Choi demonstrating a new smart grill. Happy hours, DJ sets, VIP parties and live music, at nightfall, a program of festivities awaited visitors along the Strip. In the eyes of happy few, you especially had to be seen at the show of the king of hip-hop Ludacris. The multi-Grammy Award winner appeared in “ guest star » at the Amazon party.

Hot on the heels of CES, new entrants have appeared on the market for trade shows, conferences and other summits, for the most part playing this same rise in entertainment. Like the Cannes Film Festival, doing business is no longer contradictory with fun. Signing a big deal during the day and taking over the dance floor until the end of the night has become part of the customs. Another good example: the Lisbon “Web Summit” rides on the irresistible lifestyle of the most trendy Portuguese city, a veritable breeding ground for some of the most active start-ups in Europe, promising a special program to its night owl participants entitled “The Night Summit.” An intoxicating immersion in Lisbon nightlife described by the boss of the neobank Revolut, Edward Cooper, a regular attendee: “ The Night Summit in three words? Close deals ". QED. The formula hits the mark.

However, it is not new. It's been almost 40 years since the festival called South By Southwest (a nod to the film North by Northwest, "death on the heels", by Alfred Hitchcock), anchored in one of the North American strongholds of alternative culture , has built its success on this same recipe: the enthusiasm of tech players for a city of artists and students that are ultra cool and bubbling with creativity. In the heart of the cultural desert of the conservative state of Texas, kingdom of rodeo and oil, the liberal oasis Austin has long cultivated its difference and its sense of community. As a good old slogan said: “ Keep Austin Weird "...In Austin, " live music capital of the world », with its hundreds of music clubs, guitars have never been joked about. Willie Nelson and Janis Joplin were locals. Regulars speak of a wind of eccentricity and unalterable freedom. And to find the most obvious expression of this energy, you have to walk the aisles of SXSW... Created in 1987, the multidisciplinary festival (music, cinema, technology) has always excelled in mixing genres, knowing how to brilliantly bring together, in the same edition, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Lady Gaga and Damon Albarn, or, another year, the Obama couple, Queen Latifah and Missy Elliott, not to mention the off-programming... Over the years, the event has grown in size, to the benefit of the tech sector, also becoming one of the most avant-garde places in the field of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI), even if it means losing a part of its spontaneity too. Yet there is still that certain something cool. Some concerts and parties are still accessible without a badge - the dress code is less formal than elsewhere - and that famous mix in the programming. Seen at the 2024 edition: Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling for the premiere of "The Fall Guy", Selena Gomez testifying during a round table on the power of good mental health, Nicolas Cage and Conor McGregor in full promotion, and the Black Keys headlining a dizzying program of concerts in local clubs... Finally, France was able to crow with, in particular, the presence of the electro duo Justice who came to talk about their next album Hyperdrama. We'll meet now at the end of June, this time on the Cannes Croisette, to take the pulse of the new trends irrigating this fruitful alliance of business and entertainment in which the Cannes Festival excels. It would be a lie to say that, between the petits fours and glasses of champagne, served with chic in the most glamorous settings, on the terraces of palaces, private villas and ship-owners' yachts, no one comes here to draw a great deal of inspiration.