The final of Comedy Bloomers LGBTQ+ Comedian of the Year has taken place at the The Clapham Grand.
The finalists were Dick Denham, Ben Pollard, Lachlan Werner, Umby Winters, Alison Zrada, Dee Allum, Dane Buckley, Victoria Olsina, and Alex Stringer. The judges were Zoe Lyons, Vinegar Strokes, Sikisa and Stephen Bailey.
Runners up of this prestigious award were chosen by the audience. Despite the tough competition from all entrants, they chose Dick Denham and Lachlan Werner who were closely followed by all the acts involved.
The winner was Victoria Olsina (pictured) who took home the overall prize that included a trophy and their own solo show which will be professionally streamed on the leading comedy platform Next Up Comedy, home of the best stand-up. Next Up Comedy.
On winning this prestigious award, Victoria said “It's an honor to have won LGTBQ+ comedian of the year last night, an award that is important for comedy but also important for the visibility of the queer community. I can proudly say I'm the funniest gay in the UK. I'm so happy to have performed along with such talented comedians, in such an iconic venue: Clapham Grand, and for the opportunity to get feedback from comedy legends such as Zoe Lyons, Stephen Bailey, Sikisa and Vinegar Strokes.
It has been an unforgettable night and a dream come true! Thank you to Chris Smith and his team at Comedy Bloomers for making it happen. As an immigrant, I came to this country to steal your jobs, your women, and your comedy and so far I'm doing this.”
Victoria runs one of only two Queer Women events in the whole of London central. Clandestina is a queer women, trans and nonbinary-led comedy show ran in a beautiful (and v. glam!) venue in East London: Mama’s Shelter. It’s run by Jessie Pelizzari (founder of Queer Culture Club) & Victoria Olsina (comedian).
Their aim is to elevate the voices of marginalised groups within comedy and properly support queer creatives. We have been running since July 2021, going from strength to strength, consistently pulling in sell-out audiences and securing top-quality acts each month. Notable performers have included Sarah Keyworth, Olga Koch and Sophie Duker. You can find out more about Victoria and her comedy show Clandestina here .
The organiser of the event, Chris Smith, said: "We are thrilled at the success of this year's LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year. The Awards was significantly scaled up from it's debut in 2019, taking place across the country ensuring muich needed representation from across the UK. The finals show was carried brilliantly by James Barr MC with a celebrity judging panel bringing some much-appreciated stardust to the proceedings.
All the acts had the opportunity to experience amazing feedback from the professional comics on the fianls panel - Stephen Bailey, Vinegar Strokes, Sikisa and Zoe Lyons with previous semi-finals shows supported by judges Ella Vaday, Rachel Parris, Scott Capurro, Jordan Gray and Jodie Mitchell.Suffice to say we achieved our goal - to bring LGBTQ closer to the mainstream with an Awards show that showcased the best of our communities in a loving and supportive environment. With a forthcoming documentary film about the Awards produced in conjunction with NextUp Comedy, we'll have an even bigger opportunity to showcase the finalists and other acts in the competition to a much wider audience".
