Glasgow International Comedy Festival is a

comedy festival A comedy festival is a celebration of comedy with many shows, venues, comedy performers (such as stand up comics, sketch troupes, variety performers, etc.) and is held over a specific block of time. Normally, each festival has a diverse range of c ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. The comedy festival started in 2002 and is held annually in March in venues across the city. The festival is supported financially by

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the S ...

and since 2018 has been sponsored by whisky manufacturer

Whyte & Mackay Whyte & Mackay is a company producing alcoholic beverages based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Emperador Inc. (a subsidiary of the Alliance Global Group). History Charles Mackay (1850–1919) and James Whyte founded a company as whisky ...

. The festival is billed as the largest of its type in Europe and often has acts from all over the world perform during the festival. In 2019 the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

named Glasgow as the top cultural and creative city in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The report citied the Comedy Festival alongside other cultural events as being integral to this status. The festival is recognised for playing host to a number of high-profile comedians alongside providing a platform for new acts. In 2014 the festival arranged for a comedy gig to be held on a

Virgin Trains West Coast Virgin Trains (legal name West Coast Trains Limited) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West Coast franchise from ...

train service between

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

. Eight comedians including

Patrick Monahan Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has collaborated with multiple artists and recorded a solo album, ''Last ...

performed aboard a 'comedy carriage' of an afternoon service. In the same year a number of comedians used the background of the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...

as the focus of their material. Comedy performances linked to charity fundraising have also been a common occurrence during the years of the festival. Most notably

Kevin Bridges Kevin Andrew Bridges (born 13 November 1986) is a Scottish stand-up comedian. His 2012 television series '' Kevin Bridges: What's the Story?'' was based on his stand-up routines. He has appeared on many television panel shows including '' Would ...

headlined an event to raise funds for

MND Scotland MND may refer to: * ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', a comedy written by William Shakespeare * Ministry of National Defense, departments of several governments * MND (company), a Czech oil and gas producing company * Motor neuron disease, a group o ...

in memory of campaigner

Gordon Aikman Gordon Lewis Aikman BEM (2 April 1985 – 2 February 2017) was a British political researcher and campaigner. He was Director of Research for the Better Together campaign during the Scottish Independence Referendum. During that campaign he ...

raising £25,000. The festival organisers have aimed to widen the appeal of the festival to new audiences through accessibility improvements in recent years. In 2017 the festival hosted a show delivered in

British sign language British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK), and is the first or preferred language among the Deaf community in the UK. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on ...

, understood to be the first of its kind in the UK and in 2020 a

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

friendly comedy gig will be held in the city's west end.{{Cite web, url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18196085.glasgow-comedy-festival-host-first-dementia-friendly-gig-elderly-described-stand-up-inaccessible/, title=Glasgow Comedy Festival to host first dementia-friendly gig after elderly described Stand-Up as 'inaccessible', website=HeraldScotland, language=en, access-date=2020-03-04

References

External links

Official site
Tourist attractions in Glasgow Comedy festivals in Scotland Festivals in Glasgow Arts festivals in Scotland Festivals established in 2002 Recurring events established in 2002 2002 establishments in Scotland