Barking Carnival Competitors

The Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre and the heart of London’s cultural life. We exist to present great cultural experiences that bring people together and we achieve this by providing the space for artists to create and present their best work and by creating a place where as many people as possible can come together to experience bold, unusual and eye-opening work. We want to take people out of the everyday, every day. Occupying a prominent riverside location that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames, our site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. The Southbank Centre is made up of the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery as well as being home to the National Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. It is also home to six Resident Orchestras (Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Orchestra).

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the greatest platform for creative freedom in the world – no individual or committee decides what should and should not appear. Anything is possible. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society was founded by artists to nurture and uphold the Fringe's values of inclusivity, experimentation and imagination. We exist to support, encourage and inspire artists from all backgrounds, provide information and assistance to audiences, and promote the Fringe and what it stands for all over the world. Every year, the international arts community comes together for the Fringe to perform, share ideas and make connections. It is the world’s foremost performing arts market where careers are made, and new and innovative work discovered. Fringe audiences are encouraged to take risks and try something new. The Fringe is a place to discover hidden gems, new genres, unusual spaces and the next big thing. The Fringe was one of the 20th century’s greatest innovations, a precursor to social media in providing a platform for anyone who wanted their voice to be heard. The Fringe continues to grow and evolve, embracing new technologies, audiences and ideas.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival is one of the three largest comedy festivals in the world and Australia’s largest ticketed cultural event. The Festival sells in excess of 600,000 tickets annually, with an aggregate annual attendance including free performance of more than 770,000 people, boosted by millions more for nationally broadcast Festival programming on TV, radio and digital channels. The Melbourne International Comedy Festival brand is recognised nationally as Australia’s leading comedy organisation and stands proudly as one of Victoria’s big four events alongside the Australian Open, Spring Racing Carnival and the AFL Grand Final Series. Conceived to promote the comedic arts in Australia, Melbourne International Comedy Festival has earned its global reputation through creative, eclectic programming. The organisation is active year-round with national touring, educational and artistic development programs complementing the presentation of the annual four-week festival. The 2024 Festival will take place from 27 March to 21 April.