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arts administration student, Geoff Rowe proposed a project to his lecturers to set up and run a comedy festival for
Leicester. Rowe called Tony Slattery, Harry Hill and Matt Lucas for the inaugural Leicester Comedy Festival in 1994, with 40 events at 23 venues for 5,000 tickets. In 1995, the first
441:. It also saw the introduction of a new layout for the show, with the "Pun Off's" taking place within a boxing ring that had been constructed within the centre of the stalls. Lovdev Barpaga aka "The 'Pun'jabi Warrior'" won against Julian Lee in the final. Lovdevs jokes included
58:, Josh Widdicombe and Romesh Ranganathan. Leicester Comedy Fringe events occur in Loughborough, Lutterworth, Foxton, and Coalville. Leicester Comedy Festival is Europe's largest and longest-running comedy festival with 560 shows at 64 venues. Rowe founded
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on 13 February. After being beaten in the 2015 by Leo Kearse, Rob Thomas returned and beat 2nd time finalist Julian Lee to the title. Rob Thomas' puns included:
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beat off competition from fellow comedians Rob Thomas and reigning champion Darren Walsh to become the UK Pun
Champion. Leo won the contest with such jokes as
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To begin with, the festival lasted for just seven days. In 2010 the duration increased from 10 days to 17 days, then in 2015 it was increased to 19 days.
66:, as a charity, providing opportunities for young people to "learn about comedy, address health inequalities and improve people’s well-being", launching
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The festival attracts over 60,000 people from all over the world and is seen as one of the 'Top 5 comedy festivals in the world'.
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and outdoor street events to encourage the development of comedy skills. Every year towards the end of the
Festival the
461:"When Leicester won the league, my mum bought a candle to celebrate. Now it just languishes in the middle of the table"
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425:"What's the difference between a hippo and a zippo? One's really heavy and the other is a little lighter"
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was given to Stevie
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465:"Brexit. It's like a catheter for Britain. We're no longer in continent."
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2014 saw the inaugural UK Pun
Championships, at the festival, hosted by
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705:"Comedy Festival Review: The UK Pun Championships at Just The Tonic"
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Broadway World - Leicester Comedy
Festival Announces 2018 Line-Up
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is an annual comedy festival held in a number of venues across
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News, interviews and reviews, from the
Leicester Mercury
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Promotional banner showing the Comedy
Festival's logo
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679:"2021 Leicester Comedy Festival 'best year ever'"
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443:"Pakistani Pirates. Urdu they think they argh?"
163:. The main programme is also complemented by
70:venue for up and coming comedy in Leicester.
451:The 2018 UK Pun Championships returned to
423:comedian Masai Graham, with jokes such as
91:have performed in the festival including
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703:Mercury, Leicester (14 February 2014).
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382:The 2021 festival, staged during the
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419:. This year the winner was
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87:Since then many top
42:In the early 1990s,
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178:Festival statistics
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476:Comedy in the Dark
161:Romesh Ranganathan
89:stand-up comedians
68:The Big Difference
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819:"2018 Pun Champs"
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711:on 29 August 2015
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845:. Retrieved
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733:. Leo Kearse
731:"Leo Kearse"
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713:. Retrieved
709:the original
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437:and host in
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105:Rory Bremner
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599:ArtsCulture
457:Jason Byrne
439:Jason Byrne
191:Performers
153:Greg Davies
145:Dave Spikey
117:Bill Bailey
113:Alan Davies
101:Dave Gorman
79:Stewart Lee
880:Categories
847:25 October
825:25 October
803:24 October
781:24 October
759:24 October
631:6 February
605:6 February
579:6 February
552:6 February
512:6 February
487:References
417:Lee Nelson
403:Leo Kearse
396:Lee Nelson
149:Harry Hill
133:Jimmy Carr
109:Simon Pegg
886:Leicester
843:. Chortle
777:. Chortle
568:"History"
401:In 2015,
165:workshops
129:Rich Hall
32:Leicester
470:See also
97:Jack Dee
93:Jo Brand
75:Jo Brand
688:8 March
194:Venues
38:History
737:1 June
715:1 June
188:Shows
368:2023
358:560+
355:2022
342:2021
329:2020
316:2019
302:2018
289:2017
276:2016
263:2015
251:2014
238:2013
225:2012
212:2011
199:1994
185:Year
62:with
849:2018
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783:2018
761:2018
739:2015
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690:2021
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