Vodafone Ireland and Aiken Promotions have announced a stellar line-up for this year’s Vodafone Comedy Festival, which takes place in the beautiful surroundings of Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens from Thursday 25^th – Sunday 28^th July 2013.

John Bishop, who sold out 38,000 tickets in Dublin last year, and Bafta award winner Lee Mack feature in the line-up which includes some of the best international comedians on the scene and a host of home grown talent.

Tickets for the festival go on sale this Monday 17^th June at 9am and a record turnout of 20,000 people is expected.  Performances will be spread across four specially created indoor theatres set amidst the unique features of the stunning Iveagh Gardens. Visitors will also be able to relax and enjoy street performances and live music across the grounds as well as gourmet food and drinks.

This year’s festival features the best line-up of international and national talent. In addition to John Bishop and Lee Mack, the line-up includes German superstar Michael Mittermeier and American acts such as beat-boxing genius Reggie Watts, Eugene Mirman, Michael Che & Reginald D Hunter. The Stars of Whose Line of it Anyway return with original member Greg Proops while Luisa Omeilan makes her Irish debut with her joyous 5 star show ‘What Would Beyonce Do!?’

Not to be outdone, the Irish line-up includes Tommy Tiernan, Dylan Moran, Maeve Higgins, PJ Gallagher, Jason Byrne, Fred Cooke, Bernard O’Shea, David O’Doherty, Ardal O’Hanlon, Eleanor Tiernan and Neil Delamere, together with some of the best new talent including the newly crowned RTE 2 New Comedy Award winner, Sean Nolan.

Speaking at the today’s announcement, Robert Hyland, Sponsorship Manager, Vodafone Ireland, said “This is our third year sponsoring the Vodafone Comedy Festival and we’re thrilled to be involved again with this much loved event. It’s widely acknowledged as one of Europe’s leading festivals and the great thing is its right here on our doorstep in one of the most beautiful locations this city has to offer.”  

“This year Festival-goers and comedy fans will also be able to enjoy exclusive content plus the latest news, inside reviews and buzz around the festival and great giveaways on ‘Vodafone Centre Stage’. The online platform is part of Vodafone’s new sponsorship programme which sees a major expansion of our involvement in Ireland’s leading music, comedy and entertainment festivals across the country,” he added.

Festival Director, Bren Berry of Aiken Promotions said “We always aim to provide a diverse line up of comedy talent from all over the world and this is our best yet. It’s a real mix of well-known comedy stars, oddballs and newcomers. The comedians love coming here and there’s a real community atmosphere amongst the performers over the four days.

“For the newcomers the Vodafone Comedy Festival is a very important platform to introduce them to Irish audiences. There’s nothing like stumbling upon a brand new talent or watching a completely unknown performer win over an audience. It’s exciting to see that process at play. 

“We’ve an amazing line-up that represents so many different styles of comedy performance and we can’t wait for people to see them in action. And the added bonus for festival goers is the location. The Iveagh Gardens are a hidden gem in the heart of Dublin city and a stunning location for the Vodafone Comedy Festival,” he said.

 

For full details of the Vodafone Comedy Festival Line-up and programme information visit www.vodafonecomedy.com

Pre-sale tickets go on sale on Friday 14th June at 9am and are available through the Vodafone Comedy Festival Facebook page www.facebook.com/vodafonecomedyfestival

Tickets go on general sale this Monday 17^th June @ 9am on www.ticketmaster.ie . Tickets are sold on a show-by-show basis and the festival is a strictly over 18s event.