Revealed: The funniest joke at the Edinburgh Fringe 2019

The best joke at the Edinburgh Fringe has been named as a vegetable pun.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Aug 2019, 07:19 BST
Olaf Falafel  who said performing in Edinburgh every year was painful, like pregnancy  with his award for Daves Funniest Joke at the Fringe. Picture: UKTV Dave/Martina SalviOlaf Falafel  who said performing in Edinburgh every year was painful, like pregnancy  with his award for Daves Funniest Joke at the Fringe. Picture: UKTV Dave/Martina Salvi
Olaf Falafel  who said performing in Edinburgh every year was painful, like pregnancy  with his award for Daves Funniest Joke at the Fringe. Picture: UKTV Dave/Martina Salvi

Festival veteran Olaf Falafel claimed the coveted honour of Dave’s Funniest Joke at the Fringe.

The comic said the annual event was painful, “like pregnancy”, but he nevertheless returned for a seventh year and delivered what has been judged the best gag.

The Swedish comedian has previously come close to clinching the winning joke, but this year’s effort sealed victory.

Olaf Falafel  who said performing in Edinburgh every year was painful, like pregnancy  with his award for Daves Funniest Joke at the Fringe. Picture: UKTV Dave/Martina SalviOlaf Falafel  who said performing in Edinburgh every year was painful, like pregnancy  with his award for Daves Funniest Joke at the Fringe. Picture: UKTV Dave/Martina Salvi
Olaf Falafel  who said performing in Edinburgh every year was painful, like pregnancy  with his award for Daves Funniest Joke at the Fringe. Picture: UKTV Dave/Martina Salvi

His winning joke is: “I keep randomly shouting out ‘broccoli’ and ‘cauliflower’ – I think I might have florets.”

The pun was deemed the best gag by 2,000 voting members of the public, after being shortlisted by an expert panel.

It saw off competition from jokes about nepotism, semaphore, anti-depressants, Brexit and cowboys.

Falafel, who is also a children’s book author, keeps returning to the Fringe despite the pain he feels each time.

He said: “I think this is my seventh year at the Fringe.

“It’s like pregnancy – you 
go through a lot of pain and then the child is born and enough time passes and you forget about the pain and decide that you fancy having another one, but straight after you’re like, ‘I’m never doing that again’.”

Falafel likened winning the award to the success of his beloved Luton Town.

Related topics:DaveBrexitLuton Town