This is a list of annual events focused on comedy or that feature comedy prominently.
UK & Ireland
A new festival from the organisers of MacFest. Last weekend of September.
Actually Rather Good Comedy Festival (ARGComFest)
Excellent collection of Edinburgh Fringe previews held at Shoreditch Town Hall over a long weekend in early July.
Banana Cabaret hold regular comedy nights at The Bedford but for a week in July they hold multiple Edinburgh Fringe previews.
Mixed collection of comedy across all disciplines over three weeks in April. Also hold an Edinburgh preview season in July.
Mixed arts festival which runs for two weeks in May/June.
Music, theatre and comedy for roughly one week at the end of July, held mostly in the Quarry Theatre.
Ten days in October. Includes half-days of shows on a pay-what-you-want basis.
A week of shows and workshops at the end of September.
A week of shows in the first week of October.
Tented venues are set up in Preston Park with big-name mixed bills for a four-day weekend in July.
An excellent location with many great venues hosting predominantly works-in-progress of forthcoming Edinburgh shows over a month in May.
Tented venues are set up with big-name mixed bills for a four-day weekend in July.
Founded in 1980, the Buxton Fringe is a mixed arts event that runs for around three weeks in July.
Camberley Comedy Festival
Bit of a misnomer this one as it is actually a one-off mixed bill event at the Camberley Theatre.
A host of comedians perform their previous Edinburgh shows or works-in-progress of their forthcoming shows over the last weekend in May.
The Camden Fringe runs more or less concurrent with the Edinburgh Fringe during August.
The Cat Laughs Comedy Festival
Predominantly Irish comedians perform over the first weekend in June in Kilkenny, Ireland, with some shows in Irish.
A comedy podcast festival with live recordings across various London venues for a week in November.
Comedy and music at various venues across town over the Late Spring Bank Hlliday weekend at the end of May
A mixed arts festival with comedy, theatre and music for the first two weeks in June.
Chortle Comedy Book Festival
The only book festival in the UK devoted exclusively to comedy.
Colchester Fringe Festival
A mixed-arts programme of events over a long weekend in October.
Long weekend of comedy over the last weekend of April or first weekend of May.
Sizeable event with comedy across a number of venues in the last week of July.
Ealing Comedy Festival
Roughly a week of mixed bills in Walpole Park in July.
The Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world. Lasting most of August, it hosts over 3,500 shows including spoken word, dance, musical, opera, theatre, film and comedy. It also hosts exhibitions and street theatre and runs in parallel with a host of independent festivals in the city.
Edinburgh International Improv Festival
A four-day improv jam at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
A couple of days in June packed with Edinburgh previews from top comedians and rising talents.
Mixed arts events on selected dates throughout October.
A week-long mixed arts festival at the beginning of August, held in North Berwick.
GigGag is an open-mic booking site which partners with London open spots to book their shows. For about a week in July, they come together to promote some of the brightest in new and emerging comedy talent.
Glasgow International Comedy Festival
Huge festival featuring a number of Edinburgh shows in venues all over the city for three weeks in March. The city also offers free bus travel to ticket holders.
A comprehensive program of comedy and performing arts throughout July.
Successive top-flight mixed bills outside the National Maritime Museum. Runs over a four-day weekend in September.
Mixed-arts festival of comedy, dance, theatre, music, and more. Runs for three weeks in July.
Harrogate Comedy Festival
A series of comedy nights at the Harrogate Theatre in October.
Beautifully curated festival which runs for one week in June across picturesque Hastings and St. Leonards. Hosts the “Normie” Hastings Newcomer of the Year Award.
Founded in 2007, the Hull Comedy Festival runs for two weeks in November, featuring some local talent and top acts from the Edinburgh Fringe.
A long weekend mixed bill event at the O2 arena in March.
A long weekend at the end of April in venues across the city.
One weekend in March in South Wales.
A long weekend at the Castlefield Bowl in Manchester in September.
Last Stop To Edinburgh Comedy Festival
A two-day Edinburgh Fringe preview festival in July, at the Georgian Theatre in Stockton-on-Tees.
Leamington Spa Comedy Festival
Mixed bills and Edinburgh shows for the first week of October.
The Largest comedy festival in Europe has run for over 30 years. It takes place in February and hosts over 700 shows.
The first Leith Comedy Festival took place on the first weekend of October 2023.
Soho Theatre presents a series of modern clowning shows for one week in June.
The London LGBTQ+ Stand-Up Comedy Festival
The inaugural two-week festival of LGBTQ+ comedians was in May/June of 2023 in Covent Garden.
A week of live podcast recordings at King’s Place.
London Vegan Comedy Festival (& Performing Arts)
Vegan comedians (& performing artists) at Kensington Town Hall for VegFest on the last weekend of September.
More than two weeks of performing arts in June/July.
Well-respected festival in North Wales hosting the cream of UK stand-up for now weekend in May, with some shows in Welsh.
The first Margate Fringe was held in June 2023 at the Tom Thumb Theatre, Margate..
A slightly spread out festival in towns around the New Forest area, which runs across two weeks in May/June.
Since 2009, a broad range of comedy events for a week in November.
Oxford (Festival Fringe Preview) Comedy Festival
Multiple events across Oxford throughout July. Typically previews of shows on their way to the Edinburgh Fringe.
Multiple mixed bills at Copland Park, over the first weekend of October.
A month-long series of events at the Roundhouse in August.
The Salt & Tar in Bootle held it’s inaugural comedy weekend in 2023 over the Last Weekend in May.
Shrewsbury International Comedy Festival
The beautifully abbreviated SICFest runs over a long weekend at the end of July.
Bristol hosts talks, events and classic film shows over one week in February.
One show daily for the first two weeks of October.
Tented venues are set up in Verulamium Park with big-name mixed bills for a four-day weekend in July.
Three weeks of Edinburgh Fringe previews held in Tring in July.
Running for around four weeks in October/November, Tsitsit is more of a consolidation of events which are running across the country.
Tunbridge Wells Fringe Festival
A mixed-arts festival of comedy, music, theatre and dance which runs over the first two weeks of July.
As a preamble to the Edinburgh Fringe, a loose programme of events runs over the summer in the Underbelly’s inflatable purple cow on London’s South Bank.
A broad mix of theatre, comedy and music in venues across the borough for two weeks in June.
Lots of big-name comics decend on this tiny Somerset town over the last weekend in May.
Top comedians performing full Edinburgh shows, usually over the last weekend of September.
All female comedians in a show-packed two weeks in October in Manchester.
First weekend in June.
International
French-speaking festival in Algiers which runs over a long weekend in July.
A compact festival in Phoenix, Arizona, highlighting local and North American talent over the first weekend in May.
For a month in April/May, Brisbane hosts a number of comedians, and sketch or improv troupes across four venues.
Busan International Comedy Festival
Starting as Asia’s first comedy festival, BICF highlights comic talent from South Korea and across Asia in the last week of August.
A mixture of German and International comedians perform at venues all around the city for a week in October/November.
Large international festival lasting three weeks in August, with multiple venues, outdoor entertainment and street food.
Edmonton International Fringe Festival
This is the longest running theatrical festival in North America, with productions across multiple theatres and including street performers. It lasts for two weeks in August.
Iowa City enjoys a broad mix of comedy including improv, standup and drag for three days at the end of April.
FunnyFest Calgary Comedy Festival
Founded in 2001 as Calgary International Comedy Festival, it runs for about a week in June.
For a few days at the end of September, Denver, Colorado crams a whole bunch of North American comedians into a few theatres, with some open-mic nights thrown in for good measure.
For Thanksgiving weekend in November, there are a host of solo shows, mixed bills, kids shows, short films and games in Portland, Oregon.
HK International Comedy Festival
Starting as a festival for local comedians, the Hong Kong Comedy Festival runs every September, is open to comedians from all over the world and holds separate English and Chinese language competitions.
This is the largest international comedy festival in the world. It has been running since 1983 and takes place in July.
Jamestown, New York (Lucille Ball’s hometown) holds a week of comedy events including stand up comedy, live music and block parties in the first week of August. It centres around the National Comedy Center, “the nation’s official cultural institution dedicated to comedy”, where you can also find the Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz Museum.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starting in March and running through to April. The Australian and New Zealand festivals largely run around April to June so some shows will be at two or more festivals.
Moontower Comedy Festival (Just For Laughs)
For two weeks in April the theatres of Austin, Texas host a plethora of big name comedians, but at the end there is a four-day binge when over 100 comedians descend on the small clubs.
This compact Detroit festival hosts multiple mixed-bills over a long weekend in September.
Solo shows and showcases across May/June. The Australian and New Zealand festivals largely run around April to June so some shows will be at two or more festivals.
Mixed bills, workshops and showcases over a long weekend in October.
New Zealand International Comedy Festival
Top comedians perform in various venues in Wellington, Auckland and across New Zealand throughout May. The Australian and New Zealand festivals largely run around April to June so some shows will be at two or more festivals.
Solo shows and showcase run in four weeks in April/May, The Australian and New Zealand festivals largely run around April to June so some shows will be at two or more festivals.
New festival which started in 2023, over the first weekend in May in Portland, Oregon
The Portland Maine Comedy Festival
Last weekend in May.
Also known as the San Francisco Comedy Festival, this hosts a bewildering array of comedy in all its forms and runs for around two weeks at the end of January.
Solo shows and showcases run over four weeks in April/May. The Australian and New Zealand festivals largely run around April to June so some shows will be at two or more festivals.
Over 150 theatrical productions are presented each July.
Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival
Ten days in March celebrate Toronto’s sketch comedy talent.
Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival
Canadian and international theatre companies and improv troupes occupy several Winnipeg venues for ten days in July.
The Comedy Nerd 