The Stage

Edinburgh comedy award loses sponsorship

Published Friday 20 March 2009 at 16:00 by Thom Dibdin

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Edinburgh’s premier live comedy award has found itself without a sponsor, following banking company Intelligent Finance’s decision not to renew its deal for this summer’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Founded in 1981 as the Perrier Awards to recognise the best comedy show on the Edinburgh fringe, the award quickly grew to be the most prestigious gong on the comedy circuit. A Best Newcomer prize was added in 1991, but Perrier ended its association with the awards in 2006 when Intelligent Finance, the internet and phone banking arm of HBOS, took over the sponsorship.

Nica Burns, who has run the awards since 1984, confirmed to The Stage that Intelligent Finance had decided not to renew its three-year deal, which is due to end in April. She insisted that this year’s awards would definitely go ahead, although a suitable substitute has not yet been put in place.

A further announcement is due in May concerning the awards. Meanwhile, the company appears to be the first publicly known casualty to the recession of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.

Intelligent Finance refused to comment on its withdrawal, but it is understood that the deal was worth in the region of £150,000 a year.