Edinburgh Comedy Awards: Prize money, who is eligible and who judges it?

The Boy With Tape On His Face - now known as Tape Face - is a former Edinburgh Comedy Award winner.

Known previously as the Perrier Comedy Awards, the if.comedy awards, and the if.comeddies, the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, are the biggest prize in British comedy.

The first winners back in 1981 were a talent-packed Cambridge Footlights featuring Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson.

Other names catapaulted to fame by the award over the years include Steve Coogan, Jenny Eclair, The League of Gentlemen, Dylan Moran, Al Murray, Tim Key, and now Emmy-nominated Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd.

Here’s everything you need to know about the awards.

How many prizes are there?

There are two main awards presented each year – the main prize for the Best Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Best Newcomer Award (added in 1992) for performers who are making their Edinburgh debut.

A third award, the Panel Prize (added in 2006), is presented to people or organisations who have made a major contribution to comedy at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Who is eligible for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards?

There are a number of rules regarding who can be considered for the Main Prize, which is not open to those who are already considered to be ‘star names’.

This means that any act who has starred in a television programme on a major channel, or who can fill a 500-seat venue on their own name, will not be considered.

Comedians who appear on panel shows or who have been guests on a show are still eligible, while social media followings do not (yet) disqualify an act.

To be eligible for the Best Newcomer Award the act must be performing their first full-length show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – first-time solo acts who were previously part of a sketch show are considered newcomers.

To be eligible for either award the show must be listed in the ‘comedy’ section of the Fringe programme and be at least 50 minutes in length.

The show must be unique and original and fit into the category of either standup, character comedy, sketch/revue or comedy musical.

Previous winners are not eligible, although a Best Newcomer will be eligible for the main prize in subsequent years, with John Kearns the only performer to have completed the double.

What do the winners get?

The winner of the Best Comedy Show receives a trophy and £10,000.

Both the Best Newcomer and the Panel Prize winner receive a trophy and £5,000.

Who judges the prize?

The panel for the 2024 prize has not yet been announced - watch this space.

The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday, August 21.

The 42nd Edinburgh Comedy Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, August 24.