Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award opens applications for 2025

Glasgow International Comedy Festival has opened applications for its prestigious Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award, with acts, venues and staff in 2025's festival encouraged to apply now.

Article Source: Glasgow International Comedy Festival
Last Updated: 18 November 2024 17:11

Previous winners include Janey Godley (2023) and Susie McCabe (2024), with an independent panel set to judge this year’s Shortlist, before Sir Billy Connolly ultimately decides the final winner. The only award given out by GICF, 2025’s winner will be revealed at the Festival’s Comedy Gala on Sunday 30th March at Glasgow’s King’s Theatre.

Any individual, group or collective taking part in the festival now has just over two months to submit their application, or to nominate a potential winner via www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com, with deadlines closing 5pm 13th January 2025.

2025’s award will see an independent panel of judges choose a shortlist from all applications, based on who most personifies the Spirit of Glasgow. The judging panel will make a recommendation to Sir Billy Connolly who will ultimately decide the winner of the award in his name, with the winner receiving a glass trophy with one of the Big Yin’s famous self-portraits engraved on it.

Speaking about the award’s inception in 2023, Sir Billy Connolly said: “Glasgow defies description. Many great men and women have tried to describe its spirit and failed miserably. What do you say about a town that dances, sings, plays and jokes differently from everybody else? The winner of this Award will have to be a nutter like me…”

The Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award was first introduced for 2023’s festival, aiming to celebrate the city and its Glaswegian warmth, resilience and humour which is renowned around the world. The award examines criteria which both Glasgow and Sir Billy Connolly represent including:

1. Resilient - warm but tough
2. Open - accessible for all
3. Unapologetic - proud and unpretentious; curious and challenging; mould-breaking
4. Gallus - bold and brave; self-starting
5. Funny - above all else, an ability to make people laugh

Registered participants of the 2025 festival can apply online at www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com

The award recognises a person or group of people, not a show, meaning any GICF performers, venue staff, promoters or anyone otherwise involved in this year’s festival can apply. Applicants do not have to be from Glasgow or live in Glasgow, but instead must embody the Spirit of Glasgow as defined by the award criteria.

Festival Director Krista MacDonald said: “In its third year, the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award will once again celebrate the characteristics and ideals that make the city of Glasgow so synonymous with comedy. Sir Billy Connolly is renowned around the world for his unique blend of warmth, hilarity and boldness - all values the award seeks to honour and that anyone, whether a life-long Glaswegian or a visitor to our city, will be very familiar with.

“This year’s Glasgow International Comedy Festival is once again shaping up to be one of our biggest events yet, which means there is a huge wealth of talent who can apply for this prestigious award - we look forward to celebrating this year’s Shortlist at our Comedy Gala at the King’s Theatre.”

Karen Koren, of GICF corporate director GB Festivals Ltd said: “We're delighted to once again be working with Sir Billy on this award in his honour - we've recognised two incredibly worthy winners since the award's inception in 2022 and can't wait to reveal the winner at 2025's GICF Comedy Gala.”

2023 winner Janey Godley presented 2024’s award onstage at the King’s Theatre, before Sir Billy Connolly himself sent a personalised message to Susie McCabe detailing why she was the winner. Speaking after she won the award Susie McCabe said: “When you start this career as a dare you don’t think for a minute you’re going to hear your name come out of Billy Connolly’s face! Thank you to Glasgow for being the wind in my sails. When you stand on this stage you stand on the shoulders of Billy, Elaine, Dorothy Paul and Janey. This means the absolute world to me - this city means the absolute world to me.”

The 2025 festival will celebrate Glasgow as the ‘funniest city in the world’ from 12th - 30th March 2025 with shows already announced including: Here Comes the Guillotine, Susie McCabe, Connor Burns, Val McDermid & Nicola Sturgeon’s Books and Banter, Jimeoin, Russell Kane, Jamali Maddix, Darren Connell, Kemah Bob, Craig Hill, Susan Riddell and more.

The 2025 festival will feature shows across every genre of comedy from traditional stand-up, live podcasts, clowning, improv, theatre, kids shows, musicals and more, with shows for all age ranges hosted in venues across the city.

Acts and venues can register to be included in GICF’s printed festival guide by 22nd November via www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com

2025 festival tickets are on sale via www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com with the full festival launch in early January.

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