A NEW comedy festival is being staged to help dispel some of the economic gloom caused by the downturn in the oil and gas industry.
Spearheaded by Aberdeen Inspired, the inaugural event will feature more than 250 comedians performing at over 20 venues throughout the city centre. As well as providing laughs it is hoped the event will give a boost to businesses in the area.
Taking place from October 14 to November 5, the comedy extrava- ganza promises a wide variety of local, national and international comedians over the course of 23 days.
Acts already confirmed include Tom Stade (Live At The Apollo), Simon Evans (Comedy Roadshow), Bobby Mair (Russel Howard’s Good News), Hardeep Singh Kohli, Ava Vidal (Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow) and Patrick Monahan, with many more to be announced.
The full programme, which has been put together by Naz Hussain of Breakneck Comedy, will also feature shows for kids and a number of comedy workshops.
Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, said: “Aberdeen Inspired is delighted to be launching an event the likes of which Aberdeen has never seen before. A tremendous amount of hard work has gone into organising it.
“We have a fantastic line-up confirmed and our aim is simple, to provide the best comedy available for both residents and visitors to Aberdeen to enjoy. Gigs will be held across the city centre, and we hope this will also have a positive knock-on effect for businesses during what is a difficult economic climate in the city.
“The full-line up will be announced in due course and we hope the public will support us and take the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful array of comedy that will be performed on their doorstep.”
Aberdeen Inspired is the banner under which the Aberdeen BID (Business Improvement District) operates. It is a business-led initiative in the city centre in which levy payers within the BID zone contribute.
Proceeds are used to fund projects designed to improve the business district.
Further information on the work of Aberdeen Inspired is available at www.aberdeeninspired.com
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