Comedy festival founder champions rural town’s push for Town of Culture title

The founder of a comedy festival in the ‘ancient capital of Wales’ says he is ready to put comedy at the forefront of a year-long celebration if the Welsh venue is crowned UK Town of Culture for 2028.

This year’s 15th annual festival over the first weekend in May comes just as the bidding process is hotting up, with Machynlleth claiming to be a strong contender.

Henry Widdicombe who founded Machynlleth Comedy Festival in 2010, said: “Machynlleth is a very special place for us. It is a beautiful and friendly Welsh market town where we can have a range of venues all within a ten minute walk of each other.

“We chose it for our first festival and have been delighted to return for 15 years. It is a fantastic setting to provide a relaxed space for artists to try new work in front of warm, receptive audiences.”

Venues familiar to regular festival-goers include a chapel, a bowls club, school hall and the historic 600 years old seat of Wales’ first parliament.

Widdicombe said: “Machynlleth would be a very deserving winner and if they are crowned UK Town of Culture we look forward to playing our part in making Gŵyl Dyfi Festival 2028 a great success.”

The town engaged around a quarter of the local population in shaping the bid before it was submitted. More than 150 towns are believed to have submitted expressions of interest

This inaugural UK Town of Culture competition, run by the Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport, celebrates towns across the country that demonstrate a strong commitment to arts, culture, and community engagement.

The initiative aims to recognise places where creativity thrives, local heritage is celebrated, and cultural events bring people together, boosting both social cohesion and economic development.

If successful, Machynlleth would be given a bid development grant of £60,000 to work on a full application. The successful town will receive £3,000,000, while two runners-up will receive £250,000 to deliver a year-long programme of cultural activities that showcase their unique identity, inspire local participation, and attract visitors from across the UK and beyond.

You can find out more about Machynlleth Comedy Festival here.