A new comedy festival has been announced in Leicester, organised by some of the comedians and promoters who are owed money by The Big Difference Company, the charity behind the Leicester Comedy Festival.

Local comedy promoter Colin Bowles and stand-up comedian Alex Hylton have announced details of the Independent Comedy Festival. It will take place in February 2027 and feature hundreds of shows across dozens of venues in the city of Leicester and the wider county, they say.

The announcement comes shortly after The Big Difference Company, the charity behind Leicester Comedy Festival, left dozens of performers, promoters and venues unpaid for performances that took place in February 2026, with many performers still awaiting payment.

Professional Comedian Alex Hylton, who lives in Leicester and is resident comperé at many of the city’s established venues, said: “We’re going to put on something really special. Leicester deserves a brilliant comedy festival, artists deserve to be treated fairly, and audiences should know that their ticket money is going to support the show they have paid to see.

“For too long in the comedy industry, comedians have been at the bottom of the pecking order. It’s time to start again. Hopefully comedians can trust that with one of their own kind at the helm, The Independent Comedy Festival will treat artists with the respect they deserve. With the support of many of the top comedy promoters and the city’s favourite venues we have combined to put on a new, fairer festival in 2027. It’s time that comedy in Leicester is run responsibly by people from the industry who will give the festival the love that it needs.”

Colin Bowles of local comedy promoter TripleCeePee, who put on shows at several venues across the city including The Y Theatre, Firebug, Sue Townsend Theatre among others, said: “Over the last ten years putting on a bunch of comedy every February has become a huge part of my life, so I had to take the chance to work with Alex to maintain that and try to continue the legacy with all the great things about having a huge festival of comedy in the city.”

Hylton added: “The Independent Comedy Festival is looking for potential partners who can help launch the new festival and make this as good as it can be. We are looking to work with the local authority, businesses, venues and anybody else who believes they can help.”