Following the success of the UK Pun Championships at Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival, #UKPunday has been launched to take puns nationwide. it happens for the first time on Monday, sorry, Punday 8th February 2016 (For details of UK Punday 2017 click here).

Everyone in the country is invited to get on board the pun train, share punbelievable newspaper headlines, punspired shop names from around the country and shamelessly milk the cheers and groans that makes punning excellent fun. Pundamentally, #UKPunday is all about celebrating Britain’s love of wordplay.

This year, on Punday aka #UKPunday at Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival, Lee Nelson hosts the third annual Dave Presents the UK Pun Championships; a rap-battle style pun-off, in which the UK Pun Champion 2016 will be decided. The show is already sold out but the winner will be announced here. Last year's winner, Leo Kearse, is pictured.

Here are this year's finalists:

Colin Chadwick
Masai Graham
Richard Pulsford
Nigel Lovell
Richard Woolford
Roger Swift
Tony Cowards
Harriet Collings 

On the same day a panel of experienced and distinguished pundits discuss the history of puns and how (& why) they have become an essential part of the British sense of humour, in It’s a Punny Old World. On the panel is renowned sociologist, former president of the International Society for Humour Studies and author of many books on humour Prof Christie Davies. What are the key characteristics of puns? Why do we groan when a pun is told? The panel will include comedians, academics and the odd special guest. Chaired by Martin Ballard, BBC Radio Leicester. As part of Beyond a Joke in association with www.beyondthejoke.co.uk

For details of UK Punday 2017 click here.