Special Events
In addition to over 200 nightly shows which play during the festival there are a number of special one-off events. The best-known of these is the Comedy Festival Gala, the Opening Night Super Show, which showcases short acts from many headline and award-winning comedians performing shows at that year's festival. It has become known as the festival's flagship event and typically sells out weeks in advance. The Gala is filmed and broadcast at a later date during the festival on Network Ten. Since 1995 the Gala has been a charity event, with all proceeds from the live performance and the screening going to Oxfam Australia.
The Great Debate has been an annual event since 1989 and has been televised variously on the ABC, Nine Network and currently airs on Network Ten. The comedy debate features two teams of comedians facing off loosely in the structure of a formal debate over humorous topics such as "Laughter is Better Than Sex", "Coming First is All That Matters" and "Food is better than sex". The winning team is chosen by audience applause. Since 1994 the festival has produced Upfront, a night exclusively featuring female comedians which routinely sells out.
Read more about this topic: Melbourne International Comedy Festival
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