the BRISTOL COMEDY festival celebrates our city’s thriving, diverse, and ever-growing comedy scene.
WHAT IS THE BRISTOL COMEDY FESTIVAL?
For just over two weeks in January, The Bristol Comedy Festival took over venues across the city centre for a fortnight that had everything from intimate work-in-progress gigs in bars, to big names off the telly filling some of Bristol’s biggest and most iconic venues.
The festival supported emerging talent through The Bristol Comedy Competition, open calls for spots, and collaborations with local venues, giving new acts and local legends a chance to share the stage with household names.
Working in partnership with the Bristol Business Improvement District (BID), the festival brought acts and audiences together in venues they might not have worked in or visited before and raised £6,000 for TAP for Bristol.
THE BRISTOL COMEDY FESTIVAL story:
2026
The first ever Bristol Comedy Festival was cancelled.
Comedians Burt Williamson and Andrew White plan a one-day festival at a pub in Old Market for April 2020. Then, the funniest thing happened…
2020
The Bristol Comedy Festival finally launches!
After a pandemic induced delay, Burt and Andrew finally launch the festival in May 2022 across multiple venues in Old Market, with a line-up packed full of future stars.
2022
The Comedy Festival moves to central bristol
The festival returns the following year, still in May, but this time across two venues in central Bristol: The Folk House and Basement 45.
2023
The FIRST TWO WEEK FESTIVAL
2025
In 2024, Andrew White steps back from the festival to focus on his comedy career, and Burt Williamson teams up with Harry Allmark from The Room Above to bring back an even bigger festival in 2025. Emma Phillimore also joins the team, bringing her Belly Laughs experience and helping to secure the festival’s first partnership with The Bristol Business Improvement District (BID). It’s also the year Jenny Rollason gets involved, and it turns out she’s not joking when she says she likes spreadsheets. With the BID’s backing, the festival moves to two weeks in January, takes place in 25 venues across the city centre, sells over 6,000 tickets and raises more than £2,000 for TAP For Bristol.
The Bristol Comedy Festival Returns BIGGER AND BETTER
Almost as soon as the 2025 festival finishes, Burt, Harry, Emma and Jenny start planning the next one, along with Jacob Burley, who also creates the festival’s new branding. The Bristol BID return as the festival’s core partner and with more funding behind them, the team take the festival to the next level. The 2026 festival took place over 17 days in 36 venues across the city, with more than 170 comedians taking part and over 10,000 tickets sold. It also raised an incredible £6,000 for TAP For Bristol.
