{"id":1205,"date":"2026-05-16T08:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opencomedy.com\/news\/?p=1205"},"modified":"2026-05-16T08:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:53:11","slug":"leicester-comedy-festival-payment-delay-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opencomedy.com\/news\/leicester-comedy-festival-payment-delay-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of Comedians Unpaid by Leicester Comedy Festival After 19 April Settlement Delay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Comedian Benjamin Alborough has told BBC News he is owed \u201cjust short of \u00a32,000\u201d for his appearances at the 2026 Leicester Comedy Festival, adding: \u201cI\u2019ve got bills to pay like everyone else.\u201d He is one of hundreds of performers and promoters still waiting on money from the February event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Settlement payments were due in performers\u2019 accounts on 19 April. The festival has said only 22 per cent of payments were made on time. Chortle counted 370 shows at the event and estimated that the shortfall leaves around 289 shows unsettled \u2014 roughly 78 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alborough has since been paid, though not directly by the festival. He told the BBC that Colin Bowles of TrippleCeePee, one of the festival\u2019s production partners, settled what he was owed. Hundreds of other acts and promoters remain unpaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was due on 19 April<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 Leicester Comedy Festival ran from 4 to 22 February. It attracted about 100,000 spectators and more than 500 acts, including Sir Stephen Fry, Sara Pascoe and Rosie Holt, alongside many circuit comedians performing in smaller venues across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Settlement payments \u2014 the ticket revenue owed to performers and promoters \u2014 were due on 19 April. Instead, acts received an email saying the money would not arrive, in order, the festival said, to protect the charity\u2019s cashflow position. The festival said it had prioritised \u201curgent operational expenditure\u201d so that the 2026 festival could go ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival does not retain ticket income. Under its published ticketing policy<\/a>, 100 per cent of ticket sales are passed on to acts, promoters and venues, with the festival\u2019s own income coming from a per-ticket booking fee. One comic owed just over \u00a3104 told Chortle the delay was \u201cnot life-changing but still annoying.\u201d Another, owed almost \u00a3600, said that after paying around \u00a31,000 in fees she would barely break even, describing it as a \u201cpay-to-play gig.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registration fees and performer costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chortle reports that the festival charges an upfront registration fee<\/a> of \u00a372 for a single show in a small venue, rising to \u00a3310 per show in its largest spaces. The fees are advertised in advance and are non-refundable. On top of that, performers cover travel, accommodation, marketing and production. Alborough, who works in comedy full-time, told the BBC he has to invest \u201cseveral hundred pounds per individual show\u201d once those costs are added together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reported individual amounts owed range from about \u00a3104 to nearly \u00a3600 per performer. Beyond the Joke reported that one promoter, who asked not to be named, is owed more than \u00a34,000. Rachael Johnson, who runs events in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, told the BBC she is still owed about \u00a3600 after hosting two events, having already paid her acts and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The charity behind the festival<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The festival is produced by Big Difference Company, a registered Leicester charity that also runs the UK Kids\u2019 Comedy Festival. Chortle reports that the charity\u2019s annual income is around \u00a3500,000, with annual expenses that closely match it, leaving little surplus to draw on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CEO Michael Harris-Wakelam told the BBC the situation is \u201ca small delay rather than \u2018you won\u2019t be paid\u2019.\u201d He said the charity is itself waiting on money owed to it from sponsorship, commissioned shows and ticket sales handled by third parties. He added that organisers were in talks with banks about bridging loans to pay artists sooner, and were prioritising performer payments over other planned activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its email to performers, the festival acknowledged the error and said it took full accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThis year we have gotten it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Leicester Comedy Festival statement to performers, reported by Chortle<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Equity, the performers\u2019 trade union, is listed among the festival\u2019s partners, and many of the affected acts are Equity members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2027 festival and LCF in the Park<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Big Difference has confirmed the 2027 Leicester Comedy Festival will go ahead. The company told Leicestershire Live that planning is already underway and that it is continuing to trade and run its usual fundraising activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its summer event, LCF in the Park<\/a>, is scheduled for Sunday 14 June 2026 at Abbey Park, with a line-up including Lou Sanders, Tom Rosenthal, Phil Ellis, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Nabil Abdulrashid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of 16 May 2026, the festival has not announced a revised settlement date for the outstanding payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alborough, who said he owes his career to the Leicester event, told the BBC he wants the festival to succeed and intends to perform there again, but added that \u201ceveryone needs to get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n