Panel discussion: how to get onto a panel like SXSW London’s

A panel discussion at SXSW London begins for applicants with a conference proposal on which the public votes first. According to a report by Patricia Cullen in the business outlet Entrepreneur UK of 9 June 2026, the festival, which ran from 1 to 6 June 2026 in London’s Shoreditch district, had more than 900 speakers and more than 300 conference sessions. According to the organiser, a board of advisers and the editorial team review the most-voted proposals after the public vote. For speakers this means that a panel proposal needs a clear question, contributors with different viewpoints and a network that votes along with you. On stage each panellist is left with only a few minutes afterwards, and an example from your own practice fills them best.

What SXSW London 2026 shows about panel discussions at conferences

SXSW London took place in the British capital for the second time in 2026. In a report by Patricia Cullen, Entrepreneur UK describes a festival in converted warehouses and theatres around Shoreditch that showed film premieres and live music alongside the conference. The outlet gives the conference figures as “more than 900 speakers” and “more than 300 conference sessions”. The dates come from the organiser, who announced the festival for early June 2026 in a release of 22 September 2025, with the first festival day on 1 June.

A rough order of magnitude follows from the two figures. Dividing more than 900 speakers by more than 300 sessions gives about three speakers per session. The report does not say how far the speaker figure reaches beyond the conference, so the value is only a guide to how sessions are staffed. It matches what we describe in our article Panel discussions at conferences, where a panel usually brings together three to five experts.

How SXSW London selects conference sessions: the public first, then a board of advisers

In the release of 22 September 2025 the organiser describes how a conference proposal becomes a programme item. Submission runs through an online portal, the deadline for the conference ended on 7 December 2025, and from 8 December the public could view and rate the proposals. A board of advisers and the editorial team then consider the selection that the public has put together. The festival speaks of an “open-door policy” for a broad field from thought leaders to industry professionals, so submission is open to a wide circle.

In the same release Katy Arnander, Director of Programming at SXSW London, says the festival wants its guests to encounter “unexpected perspectives”. For casting a panel that is a useful orientation, because such perspectives only arise when the contributors disagree. An acceptance rate for the conference cannot be calculated from the figures, because the 9,868 submissions also cover the music and screen programmes.

Submitting a panel discussion: what a proposal needs in a public vote

A panel discussion is a moderated stage conversation in which several experts talk about a shared question in front of an audience. Speakers usually reach a panel through a direct request from the organiser, and at SXSW London also through the open proposal with a vote. Anyone taking this route has to convince strangers within a few seconds, because the people who vote do not necessarily know you and read the description of a proposal among many others.

We found only part of the answer on which formats the SXSW London submission form offers. The festival’s page explicitly defines the fireside chat with the words “A candid conversation between two speakers exploring a key industry topic”, and it asks applicants to pick a track and a format. Whether a panel is on offer and how many contributors it may have is set out in the guidelines that the festival links on its submissions page. Read them before you apply and check whether your topic suits a panel or a talk better. Which formats exist at conferences in general is explained in our article What formats are there at a conference?

In our view a proposal for a public vote needs four things. The title poses a question with tension, on which the contributors can disagree. The line-up shows in the description which role each person speaks from, for instance as a user, a vendor or a researcher. A moderator is named. And the contributors tell their networks before the vote, because the 40,000 votes of the 2025 edition show that many people make use of their vote.

Holding your own on the panel: speaking time, an example and a link to others

Anyone in the programme has little time on stage. Suppose a session lasts 45 or 60 minutes. Moderation and introduction take ten minutes together, and the rest is divided evenly among the panellists, so that each is left with this speaking time:

In practice the speaking time is spread across many short answers, and audience questions come off it as well. There is therefore little room for any single contribution. How a conversation of this kind is led is described in our article Moderating a Panel Discussion.

In our view a fixed preparation helps in this time. You put your position on the central question in one sentence that a guest without expert knowledge also understands. You have an example with a figure from your own work ready that can be told in 30 seconds. And on stage you refer to what another panellist said earlier, because that makes it visible in the room that you are following the conversation.

Five steps to a panel discussion

1. Formulate the central question: Choose a question to which experts have different answers and put it in one sentence.
2. Put the line-up together: Invite three or four people with different perspectives and settle who moderates.
3. Check format and deadline: Read the organiser’s guidelines and find out whether panels are offered and how many contributors are allowed.
4. Inform your network before the vote: If the organiser uses a public vote, write to your contacts beforehand and ask the other contributors to do the same.
5. Prepare your own speaking time: Note your position, an example with a figure and a sentence that refers to the other panellists.