The Whyte & Mackay Glasgow International Comedy Festival has revealed its full programme as it's set to return for a 16th year this March.

The hugely popular event in the comedy calendar will take place between Thursday, March 8 and Sunday, March 25 with over 500 shows at 54 venues across the city– the most ever in the festival’s history. 

GICF is set to keep Glasgow laughing for the eighteen days in March with performances from household names like Tommy Tiernan, Rob Delaney, Katherine Ryan, Ed Byrne, Bridget Christie, Limmy, David Baddiel, Jerry Sadowitz, Alexei Sayle, Jonathan Pie and Elaine C Smith.

As part of Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018 GICF will also stage a series of workshops for budding comedians aged 16 -26. Entries are now open and those interested can get more info and apply via glasgowcomedyfestival.com

As well as stand up performances in some of the city’s biggest venues and intimate gigs in pubs, the Whyte & Mackay Glasgow International Comedy Festival features plays, sketches, improv, film and comedy for kids. There will be magicians, rappers and interactive comedy games, and shows inspired by everything from zombies to rescue dogs, Elvis to Star Trek.

Other unusual shows include the Comedy Crawl which takes the audience to see four comedians in four West End bars and Round The Clock Comedy Roadshow which takes place over twelve hours with a different performance each hour. 

Events take place every day throughout the festival and tickets for all shows are on sale now, with some performances already selling out.

Sarah Watson, Whyte & Mackay Glasgow International Comedy Festival Director, said: “It’s always exciting to announce the line up and this year is no exception.

"As the festival grows we are proud to showcase diverse voices, styles and art forms – it’s great to have two exhibitions in the programme and we’re hugely pleased to welcome eight new venues to the festival including Tramway, Glasgow School of Art Student's Association and the Science Centre.

"We’re thrilled to have Whyte & Mackay on board as our headline sponsor this year – a great Glaswegian brand with a track record of supporting comedy talent. They have brilliant things planned and are helping us to make the festival bigger and better than ever.

"There are shows to suit every budget and taste and I hope people will take a chance on someone new – you might just discover the next big thing.”

Ruairi Perry, Head of Brand at Whyte & Mackay, said: “We are a brand with Glaswegian humour and heritage at our core, we know the festival is an ideal stage to share our Surprisingly Smooth blend with a new audience.

"We are thrilled to be involved with such an iconic event and welcome the world to Glasgow. Yet again the festival has attracted some of the biggest names in comedy and of course some fantastic new talent to see for the first time, the festival truly promises to deliver a great blend to suit anyone’s taste."

The Whyte & Mackay Glasgow International Comedy Festival is supported by Glasgow Life and EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, and has previously been recognised as Best Large Festival at the Scottish Event Awards.

Keep up to date with all the latest news by registering at glasgowcomedyfestival.com or follow on Facebook and Twitter @glasgowcomedy.