WELCOME

WELCOME TO LEICESTER COMEDY FESTIVAL 2021! Grab your tickets online at www.comedy-festival.co.uk’

The world does seem to have significantly changed since Leicester Comedy Festival 2020 took place and our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the pandemic. It’s been a really difficult time for so many people, including us and all those involved in live entertainment. We feel for all our colleagues around the world who have had to cancel, or rearrange shows, events and festivals.

We are delighted to be back, presenting a celebration of British comedy and hopefully supporting those from the Leicester Comedy Festival community. We hope you will join us to support venues, promoters, comedians and all those local and national organisations and individuals who put on events as part of the festival. I’m thrilled with the programme we have confirmed to date. The festival will feature appearances by Stewart Lee, Zoe Lyons, Al Murray, Ian Stirling, Angela Barnes, Ed Byrne, Tez Ilyas, Rosie Jones, Tony Law, Larry Dean, Angelos Epithemou and many, many more. We will be updating the programme over the next weeks and months so watch out for announcements as extra acts are confirmed. Regular favourites like The UK Pun Championships, The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival, The BIG Weekends and our Beyond A Joke seminar programme are all returning. Our annual Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year Competition (which has taken place every year since 1995) will return later in 2021, but join us for a very special “Best of” towards the end of the festival.

In addition, we have scheduled online shows and events, including a fantastic line up of podcasts recorded live at the festival, streamed comedy shows and exclusive Q&A interviews with a bunch of friends of the festival.

Of course, we will react to the latest advice available from government and our local authorities so keep an eye on our social media and website for the latest news and how it may impact on the festival. In order to keep the festival Covid secure, we are strongly advising all our audience members, and promoters, that tickets for live events will NOT be available to buy on the night. Please try and plan ahead if you can. If shows are cancelled in the event of lockdown, or similar reason, our refund policy remains the same – if you have purchased tickets from the festival box office, you will get your ticket money back. We also hope the festival will support you, our audiences, who perhaps are feeling like we are and are wanting something to look forward to after a period of, well, not very much. Dare I suggest it’s time to put a smile on our faces, and I hope we can help raise spirits just a little. Leicester Comedy Festival is produced by registered charity Big Difference Company and we increasingly rely on donations to support the festival and receive these from a number of businesses, comedians and members of the public who value what we do each February, and throughout the year. We pass on 100% of the ticket sales to our promoters, venues and comedians and we now receive around 8% of the money we need each year from donations. If you value and support what we do, please consider making a donation when you buy your tickets. Your support is needed more than ever before. We have a growing number of supporters and several new partners for 2021 so a massive thank you to them and everyone who works on the festival and supports what we do. I’m so proud that all our main partners have stayed on board at this difficult time and are 100% committed to sustaining this festival, which has taken place each February since 1994. Although things might be strange and odd, I hope you enjoy the festival and together we can sustain Leicester Comedy Festival for many years to come. Thank you. Stay safe, smile and enjoy

Director Leicester Comedy Festival @geoff_rowe