About Us

Now in its fifth year, Hull Comedy Festival is becoming firmly established as a fixture in the annual comedy calendar.

The infamous John Gilbert has stepped aside as Festival Director and passed the ‘comedy flame' onto a new generation of directorship. Rich Quelch officially took over after the 2010 comedy festival and has crumbled ever since!

With almost 25,000 tickets sold in the past three years, the festival is Hull and the East Riding's largest ticketed festival, and was recently voted Hull's Second favourite festival by users of karoo.co.uk - Hull's Freedom Festival won and deservedly so.

Hull Comedy Festival was established in 2006 between eskimosoup and Hull BID. It has since gained the support of many great individual and organisations, along with partnerships with St Stephen's and First Hull Trains.
Headliners to date have included: Al Murray The Pub Landlord, Paddy McGuiness, Frankie Boyle, Russell Howard, Jason Manford, Rich Hall, Alistair McGowan, and Stewart Lee.

Hull Comedy Festival does not charge venues, organisations, promoters and performers to present their show as part of the festival provided it meets festival criteria.
The 2011 festival will take place between Thursday 21st October and Monday 21st November.

This year sees the comedy festival returning to its roots and turning the Hull Royal Hotel into the official Comedy Royale. This is where the main action will happen and a chance for all comedy seekers to soak up the festival's atmosphere.

We aim to promote the social good that can be achieved through comedy, strengthen perceptions of the Hull area and provide a positive experience for everyone participating in the festival.

Find our more about the (Alternative) History of Hull Comedy Festival