Perrier cuts Edinburgh comedy ties

Published Wednesday 14 June 2006 at 14:25 by Alistair Smith

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Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s leading comedy awards are to be renamed the if.comeddies, following Perrier’s decision to pull out after a quarter of a century sponsoring the prizes.

Intelligent Finance, an Edinburgh-based division of Halifax plc, has taken over from the bottled water giants and has committed to a minimum of three years of sponsorship.

Awards producer Nica Burns explained that as part of the revamp, the nature of the awards would also change, with an increase in the overall prize money, a funded programme called Grassroots to help develop comedy talent and improved opportunities for nominees outside of the festival.

She added: “Last year we announced that after 25 years, we would review the awards and consult with comedians, management and promoters. We therefore sent them a questionnaire and are still in the process of collating the results. We will announce the changes in due course so watch this space.”

The awards currently offer two prizes - an overall winner, and one for best newcomer. Under the revised awards, a third category will be introduced, although its title has yet to be announced. Further details are expected within the next month. A new revamped statuette is also to be unveiled, incorporating the awards’ new logo, which will replace the old Perrier bottles. According to Burns, it will be “a piece of beautiful artwork with an element of fun.”

Bidding farewell to the company’s association with the awards, Stefano Agostini, managing director of Perrier, added: “Our 25 year relationship with the comedy awards has exceeded all our expectations. We have had the most fantastic time, but 25 years is a record sponsorship and we felt that it is time for us to explore new opportunities for the brand. We would like to thank Nica Burns for her committed production and development of the comedy awards and all the hugely talented comedians, managements and panellists who have taken part. We wish her and her new partners, Intelligent Finance, every success for the future”.