Sell-out benefit gig at the Edinburgh Fringe

Edinburgh’s Underbelly  venue raised £41,000 for the Brain Tumour Charity with a sell-out benefit at the McEwan Hall last night.

Russell Howard, Jason Byrne, Nina Conti, Danny Bhoy, Iain Stirling and Flo & Joan took to the stage alongside host  John Hastings.

The venue’s  co-founder Ed Bartlam started the annual gigs three years ago after his son Alfie was diagnosed with a form of aggressive brain cancer at the age of just four.

He said: "I’m incredibly grateful to all of the comedians who took part tonight for supporting such an important cause. And to the audience who bought over 1,000 tickets and gave so generously. 

‘I’ve seen the devastating effects of brain tumours in children first hand and it’s vital that we raise both awareness of the disease and money to help find cures Our brain tumour benefit show is a wonderful way to do just that.’

The proceeds were made up of £18,000 of ticket sales, £2,010 from bucket collections as the audience left, £20,010 from Underbelly matching those two figures, and £1,035 through donations via Underbelly’s Just Giving page.

Each year, 11,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Published: 13 Aug 2019