Edinburgh Fringe’s annual funniest joke award has been scrapped for this year’s comedy festival, organisers have confirmed (no joke).
The award, launched in 2008 – providing many humorous headlines – is usually presented by the TV channel U&Dave [formerly Dave], which is owned by UKTV.
But its bosses said in a statement it was on pause “as our commissioning focus evolves”, so it could “reflect on how we continue to support comedy in the best way possible.”
It added: “While we’re resting the award this year, we remain committed to championing great comedy across U&Dave and beyond, and we’ll always look for ways to bring laughter to audiences in exciting ways.”
A witty pun about a sailing trip, listed below, was named as the funniest joke at last year’s event.
The prize has been criticised in some quarters for its tendency to always favour one-liners, while others have noted its ability to shine a light on newer comics.
UKTV noted it had been “originally created to celebrate and spotlight grassroots comedy talent.”
The esteemed but seperate Edinburgh comedy award recognises the best performance and routine overall each year.
But the funniest joke gong has been a mainstay of the festival for the best part of two decades, apart from during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The jokes are usually chosen by a panel of comedians and critics, then sent anonymously to 2,000 members of the public to collectively choose their favourite.
Here is a selection of winners from recent years that you can pass off as your own in the pub later on:
Following the announcement that the award was to be “rested”, production company Need to Know Comedy announced that it was reviving its (Some Guy Called) Dave award, calling for festival acts to email across one-liners from their show in exchange for a potential cash prize.
Miriam Margoyles, Jenny Eclair and Bill Bailey are among the performers appearing in more than 3,000 shows at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which begins on Friday 1 August.
