A Virtual Comedy Festival - Preserving Culture During COVID-19 and Beyond

受新冠肺炎疫情影响，英国最珍贵的文化体验之一——现场喜剧已经消失。包括布莱顿、麦金利斯和世界上最大的艺术节——爱丁堡在内的广受欢迎的喜剧节都被取消了，更不用说全国各地当地俱乐部的夜间喜剧综艺晚会了。这些活动每年吸引300多万人参加。喜剧表演的取消影响了公众、喜剧演员、演出场地和节日的生活，他们不仅在经济上受到影响，而且还因为缺乏现场娱乐活动和周围社区而受到影响。喜剧和笑声被证明可以改善幸福感和心理健康，而在公众最需要它的时候，它却面临短缺。NextUp正在创建一个虚拟喜剧节，将公众与现场喜剧和创造喜剧的天才演员重新联系起来，让他们在这个过程中获得收入。继2021年2月NextUp的虚拟喜剧节之后，NextUp还将与英国最大的喜剧节合作，以数字方式将公众与尽可能多的节目联系起来，架起节日、表演者和喜剧粉丝之间的桥梁，在各个方面创造价值。我们的目标是制作抗疫喜剧，把笑声带回全国的家庭，并在所有演出中获得超过100万的观众。该项目不仅在英国COVID-19限制期间扩大了现场喜剧的力量，还为其他节日创造了一个工作原型，使其能够接触到比以往更多的人，包括身体残疾的人、面临社会孤立的人以及受地理或经济状况限制的人。这些人都不应该被剥夺享受现场喜剧和所有附带好处的权利，有了这个项目，他们就不会被剥夺了。

Due to COVID-19, live comedy - one of the UK's most treasured cultural experiences - has been wiped out. Hugely popular comedy festivals including Brighton, Machynlleth, and the biggest arts festival in the world - Edinburgh, have been cancelled, not to mention the nightly comedy variety nights at local clubs all over the country. These events attracted over 3 million people every year. This cancellation of the comedy scene has impacted the lives of the public, comedians, venues and festivals who are suffering not only financially, but also from a dearth of live entertainment and the community that surrounds it. Comedy and laughter is proven to improve well-being and mental health and it is facing a shortage at a time when the general public need it the most.NextUp are creating a Virtual Comedy Festival that re-connects the public with live comedy and the talented acts who create it, allowing them to earn revenue in the process. Following on from NextUp's Virtual Comedy Festival, in February 2021, NextUp will be also partnering with the biggest comedy festival in the UK to digitally connect the public to as many of their shows as possible, bridging the gab between the festival, performers and comedy fans - delivering value on all sides.Our aim is to COVID-proof comedy, bringing laughter back into the nation's homes, and gaining an audience of over a million across all gigs.Not only does this project amplify the power of a live comedy during the UK's COVID-19 restrictions, it creates a working prototype for other festivals to reach more people than ever including those with physical disability, those facing social isolation, and those who are limited by their geographic or financial circumstances. None of these people should be deprived from enjoying live comedy and all its collateral benefits, and with this project - they won't be.