Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award
“Comedy, like drama, is about conflict and Glasgow is my city of conflict… Memories of being cold and warm, in love and heartbroken, crying with laughter and regret.” – Billy Connolly.
Applications are now closed for the 2024 Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow award.
The ‘Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow’ Award is the only official award given by Glasgow International Comedy Festival (GICF), with the winner announced at the Festival’s Comedy Gala event.
The 2023 winner was Janey Godley.
The award aims to celebrate the city of Glasgow and the Glaswegian warmth, resilience and above all sense of humour.
AWARD CRITERIA
We believe the Spirit of Glasgow to be defined by the following five criteria:
1. Resilience – being as warm as we are tough
2. Open – accessible for all
3. Unapologetic – proud and unpretentious; curious and challenging; mould-breaking
4. Gallus – bold and brave; self-starting
5. Funny – above all else, an ability to make people laugh
Any person who takes part in the Glasgow International Comedy Festival is eligible to win the award, including performers, promoters, venue staff and beyond. The award is open to anyone, you do not need to be from Glasgow to be considered or to win.
Please note that the award is not attached to a specific show, it is very much about the person. Judges will not attend any GICF shows but rather will consider an individual’s application and the traits they have demonstrated in this against the award criteria below.
HOW TO WIN THE AWARD?
Applications are now closed.
To give yourself the best chance of winning the 2024, please carefully read the below before putting your application together.
1. Remember that your application will be scored against the above Spirit of Glasgow Criteria. The scoring will be relatively subjective, but your application should touch on each criterion as best as possible.
2. Tell us as much as possible. The judges want to get to you know and who you are, not just what you do in your performances or your work.
3. You can submit as much content as you like, either via recorded media, voice recordings, written entries or performance clips.
4. Please submit at least 1 piece of media of yourself informally chatting through the criteria and how you meet this. This can be as simple as a ‘to camera’ recording from a phone or a voice note. Any content will not be judged on recording quality as long as the judges can hear you.
5. As an optional addition you can include performance clips if this helps to demonstrate how you meet the criteria. This is optional as you do not have to be a performer to win the award.
Applications will close at 5pm on Monday 15th January 2024.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Once applications close, a panel of independent judges will be scoring the application forms against the Spirit of Glasgow criteria.
You may be contacted to submit further information during this stage.
A short list will be announced during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. A winner will then be carefully chosen by the judges and Sir Billy Connolly himself and announced at the GICF Comedy Gala at the Kings Theatre.
HOW TO APPLY
If you have any questions about the award, please contact katie@glasgowcomedyfestival.com to discuss.