It’s the final week of the Festival and it seems summer is over and autumn is on its way. We have had such a good few weeks and it’s now that we discover the successes for this year.

Tonight is the Grand Final of newcomer competition So You Think You’re Funny? and it will be exciting to discover who is going to be crowned the funniest and newest stand-up comedian for 2026.

We’ve been searching the UK for the last six months in comedy clubs from London to Manchester to Glasgow to Belfast and held the semi-finals at the Edinburgh Fringe to find the ten most exciting new comedians.

We’re excited to welcome the hugely successful Nina Conti as our guest judge for the final this year.

It’s always rewarding seeing alumni from the competition go on to great success with previous finalists and winners including Maisie Adam, Aisling Bea, Tommy Tiernan, Peter Kay, Lee Mack, Fern Brady, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Sara Pascoe, Daniel Sloss and so many more.

And it’s also been wonderful hosting the shows of recent alumni including last year’s winner Madeleine Brettingham and 2024 finalist Fab Goualin, both bringing their debut shows to the Fringe to great critical acclaim.

Our aim with the competition is not only to find new comedians and crown a winner but to also support those who progress in the competition to develop their act into longer mixed-bill sets and solo shows.

This includes our Best of So You Think You’re Funny? show at the Fringe each year featuring three of the runners-up from the final last year with Reb Day, Rachel Porter and Joel Walker starring this year, selling-out shows right from the opening weekend.

There’s even more spatterings from the competition in this year's programme with Nate Kitch, Michael McPheat and Carwyn Blayney all coming through in previous years.

We also announced our Artist Development Programme earlier this year as a way of securing funds from commercial partners and alumni to run So You Think You’re Funny? and continue supporting artists beyond it.

It's been a good year and lovely to see so many audiences coming through our doors. Have a happy last few days of the greatest arts festival in the world!