The Live Comedy Association (LCA) has announced the funding which has been made available to comedians and promoters affected by the non-payment of ticket money from Leicester Comedy Festival producers Big Difference Company. The £5,000 hardship fund was launched last month with the money coming from the Stand Up And Give Fund https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/stand-up-give
All the people who applied to the fund have received support, with a total of 18 comedians receiving funding, alongside 1 promoter, and they have collectively been awarded the total £5,000. The majority of people who have received funding have asked to remain anonymous.
The Stand Up And Give Fund was launched in autumn 2025 and has so far raised over £30,000 from donations and fundraising events. The money is supporting the LCA’s lobbying work, to get greater recognition and support from government, but also funding activities and projects which benefit the sector. Following contact from an LCA member, the Directors agreed to allocate an initial amount of money to directly support people who have been impacted by the Leicester Comedy Festival situation.
Jessica Toomey, Director of Live Comedy Association, said “it’s regrettable that our members find themselves in need of support and have been impacted by nonpayment of ticket money earnt during Leicester Comedy Festival 2026. However, we are pleased to have been able to provide some immediate financial assistance for people who are in hardship. We very sadly know from the information that we have received from our members that the amount of money owed is far greater than the £5,000 we have awarded today. We will continue to work with our members to monitor the situation and provide additional support where we can.
If people are able to donate to the Stand Up And Give Fund the money will enable us to continue to support the grassroots live comedy sector across the UK. The Live Comedy Association is the only membership organisation working on behalf of people working across the live comedy sector and we are working tirelessly to secure recognition of live comedy as an essential part of the creative industries and improve working conditions for the sector. We will announce further funding opportunities later this year.”
The Live Comedy Association is a not for profit, Community Interest Company formed in 2020 and is supported by a board of Directors and an Advisory Panel made up of people working in the industry. Members include comedians, comedy clubs, promoters, venues, festivals and other people who rely on live comedy to earn their living.
The LCA recently launched a letter writing campaign to get MPs to sign a letter to the Culture Secretary asking for recognition that grassroots live comedy is an essential part of the creative industries and needs the same support as grassroots live music. The campaign is supported by the Night Time Industries Association and the letter has already been signed by MPs from Wales, London, Midlands, South, North East and Yorkshire. Further details are available by visiting www.livecomedyassociation.co.uk
There has been further bad news for the Leicester Comedy Festival this week with the city's Big Difference venue being repossessed.
