[arista]

The TV Channel Dave
has pulled out.


Fed up, of wasting their CASH




[The prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Awards
might not go ahead in August,
and their long-term survival is uncertain.
This mirth-free news is being revealed today
by their organiser Nica Burns,
who has been unable to secure a title sponsor
and is now reaching out for wider support.
“I’m hoping it’s not a crisis,
but a crossroads,” she says.

Initially, and fondly, known as
“The Perrier” – and still sometimes referred to
as that – even though the
French mineral-water brand hasn’t been
associated with the awards since 2005,
the award “for the funniest,
most outstanding”
act on the Edinburgh Fringe has had four
other headline sponsors in its time,
including Foster’s Lager,
Lastminute.com and latterly
the digital TV channel Dave.

The list of former winners and nominees
is such a roster of comedy talent that
those supporting the awards acquire
kudos by association,
whether it be the Cambridge Footlights
in 1981; Frank Skinner,
Lee Evans and The League of Gentlemen
in the 1990s; Russell Kane in 2010;
or New Zealand’s Rose Matafeo in 2018.
Burns, who co-owns theatre group Nimax,
has run the awards since 1984.
There have been controversies
in the past.
In 2001, some leading comedians
(including the inaugural winner, Emma Thompson)
advocated a boycott of the awards
to protest Nestlé (which bought Perrier in 1992)
and its sales of powdered
baby-milk in developing countries.

And eyebrows were raised at the attempt
to dub the awards the “if.comeddies” to flag
the support of online banking service
Intelligent Finance in 2007.
There have been hiatuses in
corporate support, too, with Burns,
live comedy’s greatest cheerleader,
twice stepping in to meet the costs.
But those costs are now c £200,000,
a figure she can’t meet herself.
Why is it such a large amount,
given the prize-money
(£10,000 for the main award,
£5,000 for the
Newcomer and the Panel prize)?

Aside from the expected glitz at the
ceremony itself, it’s what happens behind
the scenes that counts:
a quasi-military operation to ensure
a 10-strong panel of experts,
industry insiders and selected
members of the public,
plus a large team of
“scouts”, can scour the
festival – assessing around 750 eligible
shows in 2019, and 570 in 2022
when the Fringe returned post-Covid.
That administrative army needs accommodating
and renting in the Scottish capital has
become a lot more expensive.]


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/...g-crisis-news/

Was Debated last night
on BBC Newsnight
now on 2 channels.