Adam hailed Montreal star

Adam Bloom has been named as one of the hottest comics at Montreal's Just For Laughs festival.

America's influential Variety trade paper cited the British stand-up among a brief list of "talent that generated industry heat" at the event, which finished at the weekend.

Although it is traditionally a showcase for US TV executives to identify upcoming talent, few deals were signed on the back of this year's £11.5million event, the world's biggest comedy-only festival.

However, the event has been deemed a success, attracting a record 1.6million audience to see more than 1,900 performers from 16 countries. There were also 660 journalists and 1,200 industry folk.

The event's film strand Comedia also received a boost, thanks to a number of world premiers, including the Farrelly brothers' Osmosis Jones, starring Chris Rock, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, produced by Tom Hanks's company Playtone.

Organisers have announced that next year's event, the 20th, will take place from July 11 to 21.

Published: 24 Jul 2001