Comedy festival brings £2m to Leicester
The Leicester Comedy Festival contributes more than £2m to the city's economy, according to research by De Montfort University (DMU).
More than 40,000 tickets were sold for the 346 shows which took place at the festival earlier this year.
The research, commissioned by Leicester Shire Promotions and Prospect Leicestershire, was completed by arts and festival management staff at DMU.
Research also concluded that the organisation behind Leicester Comedy Festival, Big Difference Company, sustains 21 full-time equivalent jobs each year.
More than three-quarters of Leicester businesses which were surveyed said they thought they needed to be 'more engaged' with festivals.
According to the research, there was also an 8 per cent increase in visitors to the festival staying in hotels in the city, worth an estimated £36,000.
City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby launched the research at an event held at DMU this morning (20 July).
