WATCH OUT FOR

We have teamed up with some of the best comedy podcasts around who will be visiting the festival to record episodes live, in front of you – our lovely audience. This is your chance to see behind the scenes and if you laugh loudly, you may end up hearing yourself on the broadcast. If you can’t make it to Leicester, don’t worry. Tune in and catch the podcast festival specials from a device near you.

One of our overall aims is to support new and emerging talent and one way we do this is via our partnership with Leicester Fridge. The Fridge is a loose collective of comedians based locally and they are back for another brilliant year. Please support them if you can.

Back for a 6th year, we’re delighted to be taking the BIG Weekends to the Harborough District, Blaby and Coalville & Ashby, thanks to our friends at Harborough District Council, Blaby District Council and North West Leicestershire District Council and their partners. The BIG Weekends are a great way to experience a taste of the main festival in the county. Things may look a little different for this year, but keep an eye on our website for the latest information about shows which might be near you.

We are bringing back our Laugh Term Comedy School which is an opportunity for young people to learn stand-up comedy and comedy performance skills. This year the “school”, which takes place over half term (gettit?!) will be hosted in partnership with Curve Theatre – full details are in the listings.

Following the success in recent years, we continue to organise a series of talks, discussions and seminars aimed at people who want to delve a little deeper into issues linked to contemporary society and comedy. Most of the topics this year focus on how comedy, and the comedy industry has been impacted on by Covid- full details in the listings.

We are delighted to present The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival for its 3rd year. The line up of shows, workshops and events continues to evolve but will include Loving Laughing - where we will present the award for the Funniest School in Leicestershire. For more information about The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival visit our website

From Bed & Breakfast in the 1930’s to AA 4* rated Boutique & Bistro Hotel in 2017, The Belmont has been the heartbeat of Leicester life for 80 years. Now the hotel is part of Leicester’s bright and brilliant future, with fabulous new food and drink menus, individually designed bedrooms, bespoke business and wedding facilities and much, much more. Situated in pretty New Walk, the hotel is just a few minutes’ walk from the train station, festival venues and brilliant shopping and entertainment.

Leicester Comedy Festival & Big Difference Company would like to say a special thank you to The Belmont for providing accommodation for festival competition prizes: ‘Leicestershire’s Favourite Joke Competition’ sponsored by Everards and the ‘Leicester Comedy Festival Big Raffl e Prize Draw’ sponsored by Beanser

If you want to extend your stay at the festival, we’ve teamed up with 3 brilliant Leicester hotels who are our “offi cial festival hotels”. All are located close to the city centre so they are in easy walking distance of many of our central festival venues.

Ramada Hotel Leicester 84-90 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1GE | 0116 366 0150 www.leicestercitycentrehotel.com

Shopping, cafés, sightseeing, dining out, night-life... a city break offers an ideal opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of vibrant and exciting Leicester. We are located within the heart of Cultural Quarter with a stone throw away from different venues during the festival. Our location is easily accessible by car, public transport or on foot which makes it an easy choice to stay when visiting Leicester.

Special Offer : Dinner, Bed & Breakfast available starting from £75 pounds for 2 person. Call the hotel directly on 0116 366 0150 to reserve.

St Martins Lodge Peacock Lane, Leicester, LE1 5NR | 0116 261 5200 www.stmartinslodge.co.uk

St Martins Lodge offers luxury non-serviced accommodation enabling guests to maintain social distancing. With 28 bedrooms, including a top fl oor executive suite, guests can stay safe with confi dence. Overlooking the 11thcentury Leicester Cathedral, this upmarket hotel in a restored Georgian-era building has had each of its rooms individually styled in sympathy with the historic architecture and character of the original building. St Martins Lodge is a one minute stroll from Leicester’s historic Guildhall, St Martins House Conference Centre, Leicester Lanes shopping with a variety of independent retailers and an array of independent wine bars, eateries and sweet treats.