Glasgow International Comedy Festival Gala

The Glasgow International Comedy Festival Gala takes place at The King's Theatre on Saturday 27 March, starting at 2pm. It's the festival's show of the year, a special afternoon showcase that pulls together some of the best talent from across the whole programme into one bill. If you've only got the one afternoon to spend on the festival, this is the one to pick.

To get a sense of what that means, it helps to know the scale of the festival itself. It's billed as the largest comedy festival of its kind in Europe, and it's become a proper fixture of Glasgow's cultural calendar. The programme spreads across stages all over the city, and the booking pairs big television names and stand-up stars from across the UK and beyond with home-grown Scottish talent. The Gala gathers a selection of those acts on one stage, so you get a good cross-section of the festival in a single sitting.

There's one more thing that happens during the show: the winner of the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award is announced. It's named after the city's most famous comic, and the announcement is part of the afternoon's proceedings.

It's a matinee, so it's an afternoon out rather than a late one. The King's Theatre is at 297 Bath Street in the city centre, G2 4JN, and the show starts at 2pm on Saturday 27 March.