Leicester Stand Up Challenge 2025

Tickets are now on sale here!

The event returns to The Y Theatre in Leicester

on Tuesday 30th September 2025.

We are delighted to announce we have 8 participants taking part – check out the full line-up here!

The Stand Up Challenge is supported by individuals from a wide variety of organisations and businesses who take up the challenge to write and perform their first ever 5 minutes of original stand-up comedy live on stage, in front of their colleagues, clients, friends and family – whilst raising funds for a local charity.

Proceeds from the Stand Up Challenge will support local Leicester charity Big Difference Company (registered charity 1135167), which runs Leicester Comedy Festival and The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival each February; and aims to improve the health & well-being of communities across the UK. Recent projects have included Safer Spaces training for our local venues focused on improving the night time experience, our emerging talent projects to improve diversity and representation on stage in comedy such as Bridging the Gap or Circuit Breakers.

Leicester Comedy Festival is the longest running comedy festival in Europe and has an annual economic impact to Leicester & Leicestershire of £7.5 million every year.  The annual festival offers exciting ways for local businesses to associate themselves with “one of the leading brands in the UK public arts” (The Times).

Image credit: DWC Imagery – Video credit: Crosscut Media