There are several comedy awards and competitions in Edinburgh. Here is a list of the winners.
The 2024 On the Mic Comedy Awards
No award show. No prizes. Just our favourite shows from the Edinburgh Fringe.
Best Free Show – Open to any solo show that is free entry without option to book, reserve or pay for a ticket. A format championed by PBH’s Free Fringe.
Milo Standards: Penis de Milo
Best Pay What You Want Show – Open to any solo show where a ticket may be purchased or reserved in advance, with an option to pay what you want at the end. Just the Tonic venues, The Laughing Horse Free Festival, The Monkey Barrel and several other venues use this model.
Sid Singh: American Coloniser
Best Ticketed Show – Open to any show that uses the traditional advance ticket model. The Stand, The Pleasance, Underbelly, Assembly and Gilded Balloon all require tickets to be purchased in advance.
Abby Wambaugh: The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows
Best Sketch Show – Open to any sketch comedy show at any venue.
Grubby Little Mitts: Eyes Closed, Mouths Open (pictured).
Best Multicast Show – Open to any multicast comedy show at any venue.
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical
The Edinburgh Comedy Awards
The most established awards of the Edinburgh Fringe. Formally known as the Perrier Awards.
Best Show – Amy Gledhill: Make Me Look Fit on the Poster
Best Newcomer – Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe LIVE!!!
The Victoria Wood Award – Rob Copland
Jones Bootmaker (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Awards
The freshest mainstream comedy awards in Edinburgh. This is their second year.
Best Show – Elf Lyons: Horses
Best Newcomer – Abby Wambaugh: The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows
Panel Prize – Joint Winners are Alex Petty, Best in Class, Dion Owen, Elaine Robertson and Funny Women Glitter Project
The Malcolm Hardee Awards
Held in the name of the late great alternative comic.
Comic Originality – Mark Dean Quinn: Oh No (That’s Not Your Cheese)
Cunning Stunt – Thom Tuck: TimesVary
Act That Should Make A Million Quid – Garry Starr
The Comedians’ Choice Awards
Voted on by performers.
Best Show – Elf Lyons: Horses
Best Newcomer– Ian Lockwood
Best Person – Alex Petty (Laughing Horse Free Festival)
Mervyn Stutter’s ‘Spirit of the Fringe’ Awards
As awarded by comedy legend, Mervyn Stutter.
David Eagle: The Eagle is Candid
Elf Lyons: Horses
The Comedy Poster Awards
As voted on by readers of The British Comedy Guide and by an industry panel.
Audience Award – Abi Clarke: (Role) Model
Panel Award – Deep Fried in Patter
NextUp Biggest Award in Comedy
As voted on by members of comedy streaming outfit, NextUp.
Colin Hoult
So You Think You’re Funny? Award
Long running competition hosted by the Gilded Balloon and decided by an industry panel
Winner: Alana Jackson
Second: Ciara O’Connor
Third: Ayo Adenekan
DAVE’s Joke of the Fringe
An industry panel longlist is put to a public vote of two thousand people.
Mark Simmons: “I was going to sail around the globe in the world’s smallest ship but I bottled it”
