Up to 8,000 people visited Machynlleth for a weekend packed with at least 200 shows at the thirteenth annual Machynlleth Comedy Festival.

Festival organisers and Powys politicians have praised the 2024 Machynlleth Comedy Festival, which returned to the Mid Wales town between Friday, May 3, and Sunday, May 5.

Some of Britain’s top comedians, such as James Acaster, Mike Wozniak, Lou Sanders, Josh Widdicombe, Sophie Duker, Rose Matafeo and Mark Watson, played to sold out shows over the course of the festival.

Festival founder Henry Widdicombe said: “The atmosphere in the venues and festival spaces remains second to none, and we’re thrilled that the Festival continues to support acts as they work up new shows.”

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Comedian Ivo Graham closed the festival with his Comedians’ DJ Battles show from Y Plas’ main hall, described as “the most competitive club night in comedy”.

As well as bringing in several comedians and comedy fans to the town, the festival partnered with several local businesses in putting the event together.

One of which were the Machynlleth based restaurants Ynyshir and Gwen Wine Bar & Restaurant, who partnered with the festival to host mini comedy clubs on May 4 and May 5, welcoming multiple guests to perform while appetisers were served to the audience.

The festival also teamed up with Criw Compostio, a local community composting organisation, to collect compostable food waste from all food and drink stalls. They collected an estimated 180 litres, which will provide compost for horticultural projects in and around Machynlleth.

Michael Williams, Powys Councillor for Machynlleth, praised the event, saying: “The festival was excellent. It was absolutely superb to see the number of people in town and providing such a boost to the local economy. Long may it continue.

“The organisers have done an absolutely phenomenal job of cleaning up afterwards. The festival itself ended on the Sunday and even by Monday morning down at Y Plas, everything had been cleared away and it looked untouched.

“It was great to see people out and enjoying themselves. Times have been tough for this past year, on both a national and local level, so it was wonderful to see so many people visiting Machynlleth to be entertained.”