The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is one of the three biggest comedy festivals in the world. It is on record as the largest ticketed cultural event in Australia. It started in 1987 and since then has expanded to venues all over the city. It even has a road show that takes some of the most popular performers from the festival on a tour of cities and towns in other parts of Australia.
The MICF opens every year on or about Aprils Fools day and runs for the entire month. Since 1990 the events have been focused in the vicinity of the Melbourne town Hall. However shows are held in every imaginable venue in the city including buses and trams.
The first year the humor fest was held it included about fifty shows. Most were held in and around the Universal and Athenaeum theatres. By 1999 there were over a hundred and twenty shows and the headquarters moved to the newly renovated town hall. In 1999 some three hundred fifty thousand patrons attended and the festival has continued to grow.
In 2010, this comic convocation hosted a record 369 shows with 4,947 performers both including artists from the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and China in addition to lots of Australian home-grown talent. Audience attendance reached 508,000.
Participation is not limited to stand-up comedy or cabaret acts. Performers who practice any comedy-related art come from all over the world bringing a variety of shows. There a have been stage plays, sketch shows, comedy improv, musical comedy and comedy art exhibits.
Highlights of the gathering are special events such as Upfront, a night devoted to female comedians. Another special event is the Great Debate. Conducted like a formal debate audience applause chooses the winner after teams argue such questions as "Is laughter better than sex?".
Probably the most popular event is the opening night Gala which features short performances by many comedians and comic teams. The show is filmed for television and broadcast later in the season. The Gala has for several years been held as a charity fundraiser to benefit Oxfam Australia.
The MICF opens every year on or about Aprils Fools day and runs for the entire month. Since 1990 the events have been focused in the vicinity of the Melbourne town Hall. However shows are held in every imaginable venue in the city including buses and trams.
The first year the humor fest was held it included about fifty shows. Most were held in and around the Universal and Athenaeum theatres. By 1999 there were over a hundred and twenty shows and the headquarters moved to the newly renovated town hall. In 1999 some three hundred fifty thousand patrons attended and the festival has continued to grow.
In 2010, this comic convocation hosted a record 369 shows with 4,947 performers both including artists from the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and China in addition to lots of Australian home-grown talent. Audience attendance reached 508,000.
Participation is not limited to stand-up comedy or cabaret acts. Performers who practice any comedy-related art come from all over the world bringing a variety of shows. There a have been stage plays, sketch shows, comedy improv, musical comedy and comedy art exhibits.
Highlights of the gathering are special events such as Upfront, a night devoted to female comedians. Another special event is the Great Debate. Conducted like a formal debate audience applause chooses the winner after teams argue such questions as "Is laughter better than sex?".
Probably the most popular event is the opening night Gala which features short performances by many comedians and comic teams. The show is filmed for television and broadcast later in the season. The Gala has for several years been held as a charity fundraiser to benefit Oxfam Australia.
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