Leicester Comedy Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary

Leicester Comedy Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary

30th Anniversary Festival

The 30th Anniversary of Leicester Comedy Festival launches with a huge line up of comedians performing across Leicester from 8th – 26th February 2023. The Festival is also announcing Eshaan Akbar, Jo Brand, Sikisa and Stewart Lee joining Tony Slattery, as new Patrons. Rosie Jones and Michael Rosen are announced as new patrons of The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival.

Stewart Lee says:
“Comedy makes us see light in the darkness. And it helps us to understand the mad world we live in through the lens of laughs. There’s rarely been a time comedy has been needed more, and Leicester Comedy Festival continues to deliver it. From big names that help make it a must see to the kind of new talent so deserving of its support, Leicester Comedy festival’s program lands all across the social spectrum. I am honoured to be a patron of this vibrant event that has made the name of Leicester echo for ever in the caves of comedy history!”

Rosie Jones says:
“It’s a great honour to be a patron of The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival. As a comedian who also writes children’s books this could not be more up my street! I love making people laugh, especially kids, so here’s to lots more daft events where we can be funny and very, very silly!”

Big Difference, the charity behind the festival, outdoes itself yet again to deliver a memorable and entertaining experience by shining a light on the future generation of comedians, working with both young and old communities, and cultivating laughter and comedy in people’s heart, as they celebrate with both staples and rising stars of the industry.

2023 will welcome hundreds of comedians and shows, taking place in venues, pubs, bars and every conceivable nook and cranny of Leicester and Leicestershire – this year’s exceptional hosts line-up include: Seann Walsh hosting the Gala Preview Show on 6th January at De Montfort Hall and Thanyia Moore hosting The Big Comedy Fundraiser on 16th February at De Montfort Hall – headlining Milton Jones, Nina Gilligan, Emmanuel Sonubi and Scott Bennett. In addition, Curve Theatre will host Q&As with Seann Walsh on 19th February, and Nish Kumar on 26th February. Finally, Nish Kumar will headline Comedy Heaven at Curve Theatre on February 26th.

As part of the celebrations some anniversary events will also be held, events such as 30 acts for £30 at Hansom Hall on 18th February; the 30th anniversary exhibition at Hansom The Old Library Café and Galleries; and a 30th anniversary celebration at the Sue Townsend Theatre on 25th February, featuring a Q&A between Arthur Smith & Geoff Rowe, the founder of Leicester Comedy Festival, and many more to discover in the Festival Brochure.

In February 2023, Leicester Comedy Festival will again stream events online, directly from the festivals with their official streaming partner Next Up.

Comedians performing at the various venues in 2023 include Chloe Petts, Colin Hoult, Darren Harriott, Adele Cliff, Fern Brady, Gary Delaney, John Kearns, Ignacio Lopez, Richard Herring, Ahir Shah and Sophie Duker, Josh Pugh, Emmanuel Sonubi and Sarah Keyworth.

Comedy has grown up in Leicester and continues to grow. Big Difference will ensure that this brilliant cultural event continues to thrive into the next 30 years.

Leicester Comedy Festival main partners are De Monfort University and Leicester City Council. The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival is sponsored by De Montfort University and NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

About Leicester Comedy Festival
Leicester Comedy Festival is Europe’s biggest and longest-running comedy festival.

Leicester Comedy Festival returned in 2022 with a fantastic line-up of hundreds of shows! The line-up featured over 560 shows, over 800 performances and 64 venues. As always, the festival hosted TV names, performing solo shows and the 2022 line-up saw a veritable who’s-who of comedy stars take to stages across the city – including Angela Barnes, Ahir Shah, Catherine Bohart, Ed Gamble, Henning Wehn, Katherine Ryan, Maisie Adam, Mark Watson, Nabil Abdulrashid, Nick Helm, Pam Ayres, Rachel Parris, Ria Lina, Richard Herring, Rosie Jones, Ross Noble, Seann Walsh, Simon Brodkin, Stewart Lee, Suzi Ruffell, Tim Key, Tony Slattery and many, many more.

About The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival.
The UK’s only comedy festival for kids is celebrating its fifth year in 2023. The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival’s key focus is to engage children in creative and social contact with others and provide shows for all the family to enjoy. With educational and participatory events to enable children to build self-confidence, make friends, have social interaction, and enhance creative development, there will be a series of workshops and events

About Big Difference
Big Difference is the charity which grew out of the hugely successful Leicester Comedy Festival. They are the same dedicated people, who work year-round with communities across Leicester and Leicestershire, producing programmes, projects and events to improve people’s lives through comedy, laughter and the arts.

Rugged Hank

Education Technology Day must be extended to prisons

Education Technology Day must be extended to prisons

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

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