Long lines for the first day of South by Southwest

Hundreds of thousands of people made their way to Austin Friday, for the kick-off of the South by Southwest event.

SXSW started back in March of 1987, with 700 people in attendance. Austin's charm won over visitors and South by Southwest took a life of its own. Now, hundreds of thousands of people ascend on the city known for innovation and technology.

Steve Wright has been a volunteer for SXSW for two years now. “I do registration, because I am loud, they threw me out here,” he said.

With so many people that means lines, a very long line, one that seemed almost never ending. Wright said Friday is the busiest day for people checking in to get their badges.

People are in attendance from all over the world; Estelle Yafi is from France, “I am here for work. I am working in an innovation consulting firm. I am here to attend conferences according to our clients to challenge our clients,” she said.

David Lowenstein and Sarah Dewitt are from Arlington, Virginia they both work for PBS Kids. “We are here just to check out all the new innovative things that are happening in the digital space,” Lowenstein said.  Dewitt said it’s her 7th time at the event “This has been a great place for us to kind of meet new developers and see new things happening, it's been a really exciting innovative place for us.”

Despite an extremely long line, Wright said everyone was in good spirits. “They're just glad to be here, some people have come as far as Norway, Germany. ‘After 24 hours in a plane you're just happy to be standing right? Who wants to be standing out in the weather?’ Inside is much better,” he said.