Aberystwyth Comedy Festival features around 50 of the best UK-based comedians who descend on this seafront university town for three days of great comedy.
The organisers’ vision for the festival is to provide a space for acts to perform polished shows following ‘work in progress’ slots at Machynlleth Comedy Festival in the spring, and a run at the Edinburgh Fringe over the summer.
Previous line-ups included 2019 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Jessica Fostekew, BBC New Comedy Award winner Yuriko Kotani and great Welsh exports, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Tudur Owen and Steffan Alun.
There's also the regular comedy translation gig. You don’t need to understand a word of Welsh, as the comedians provide the translation. Complete chaos, but a heck of a lot of fun!
When is it on?
The festival takes place over three days in early October each year, with this year's festival taking place from 03 - 05 October 2025.
Where is it?
As the festival name suggests, all the action takes place in Aberystwyth, or 'Aber' as it's known locally, a university town situated on the rugged Ceredigion coast in Mid Wales.
Events at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre on the University campus (approximately one mile away from the train station and up a fairly steep hill).
How do you get there?
Aberystwyth railway station is on a direct line from Birmingham so is well connected to cities across the UK. If you are looking to travel by car, routes to Aber will include passing through the beautiful Welsh countryside. There is convenient car parking available but the town can be busy, especially during the festival, so car sharing is encouraged.
There's more detailed information on how to get to Aberystwyth on the Aberystwyth Comedy Festival website, including approximate travel times from locations across the UK and options for car parking.
What to do locally?
Aberystwyth town boasts a variety of independent shops, great places to eat and drink and lots of great attractions to visit. Be sure to check out the National Library of Wales, and the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway, the longest electric funicular cliff railway in Britain, with one of the world’s largest Camera Obscuras at the top of Constitution Hill, which provides a 360 degree, bird’s eye view of 1,000 square miles of land and seascape.
See our insider's guide to Aberystwyth for more information on things to do in this seaside town during your visit.
How do you get tickets?
Tickets can be purchased on the Aberystwyth Comedy Festival website.
Where to stay?
There's a range of accommodation in Aberystwyth, with opinions for all budgets.
