A huge comedy festival is coming to York this summer – featuring some of the biggest names in comedy.
The inaugural York Comedy Festival will be co-headlined by comedy legends Dara Ó Briain and Katherine Ryan. It will take place inside York Museum Gardens on Sunday 6 July 2025.
The stacked line-up of nine comedians also includes Maisie Adam, Joel Dommett, Clinton Baptiste, Angelos Epithemiou, Vittorio Angelone, Scott Bennett, and host Stephen Bailey.
The new festival is set to be a day of hilarious, award-winning comedy from huge stars and fresh new voices set within the historic grounds of one of the city’s most beloved locations.
York Comedy Festival debuts this year as part of the Live At York Museum Gardens series which, now entering its second year, has already seen sold-out performances from the likes of local heroes Shed Seven, singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti and Libertines co-frontman Peter Doherty to thousands of fans.
As well as comedy, this year’s series brings British rock band Elbow, American disco funk trailblazer Nile Rodgers with his band CHIC and more still to be announced.
Live at York Museum Gardens is a joint collaboration between Leeds-based Fututresound Group and York Museums Trust.
Andy Smith, head of Live, Futuresound Group said: “We’re thrilled to be introducing York Comedy Festival this July as part of our second series; building on our collaborative offering with a wider variety of entertainment beyond music.
“Our inaugural sell-out concert series last summer gave us the opportunity to see the lasting cultural impact that these large-scale outdoor events have on the city so this year we’re really excited to be bringing world-class comedy to York Museum Gardens alongside some incredible live music.”
Richard Saward, head of operations at York Museums Trust added: “The introduction of a comedy festival as part of Live at York Museum Gardens is a fantastic addition to the programme and York Museums Trust is delighted to be hosting this special evening.
“We are looking forward to welcoming these amazing comedians to York.”
A York exclusive postcode presale (YO1, YO10, YO19, YO23, YO24, YO26, YO30, YO31 & YO32) will go on sale at 9am on Wednesday 5 February – tickets available here.
Tickets will then go on general sale on Friday 7 February at 10am. Tickets will be available here.
For more information, visit the York Comedy Festival website.