Once again we’re looking for our new cohort of brave and talented ‘comedy virgins’ to perform five minutes of live stand-up comedy at the world’s largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, in August 2026.
New to comedy but got the itch? Even if you are already a seasoned public speaker, performing live comedy is a whole new experience.
Jaz Ampaw-Farr, award-winning motivational speaker and author, speaking about the 2025 Glitter Challenge said:
“The Glitter Challenge was hands down the best learning I’ve engaged in this year and I spend my life speaking at conferences! it has transformed the way I stand on stage to speak to audiences.”
WHAT’S THE DEAL?
There is a price tag as this is a fundraiser, but we’ve made it easy by building this element in. No need to canvas for sponsorship as with many fundraising activities – all you need to do is show up and perform.
If you are looking for an exciting rollercoaster ride of a challenge and want to help us pay it forward by improving creative access for women in marginalised communities or circumstances, please join us on this special and glittery comedy journey which will start with formal training from May 2026 onwards. This includes:
- A series of exclusive Glitter Challenge comedy bootcamps.
- Free access to our 2026 existing event programme of Comedy Crash Courses and Stand Up to Stand Out workshops with our experts to explore comedy ideas and kickstart the comedy process.
- Working with an assigned personal comedy mentor (professional comedian, comedy writer or creator) to perfect your set.
- Access to our full team of comedy mentors via one-on-one sessions (you will be given an allocation of hours to work with them as part of your deal).
- A live Edinburgh Fringe Preview at a central London venue with constructive feedback.
- Introductions to perform at other comedy gigs for practice purposes.
- AND… the ultimate challenge: perform live in a comedy showcase at the world’s largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe in August (date tbc) in one of the festival’s iconic venues.
Price £3,000 + VAT – payment terms available.
Earlybird* £2,500 + VAT – payable in full by 31st December 2025.
*This is the same rate as this year. We have had to increase the price for next year based on real costs and feedback from our Challengers.
We will provide you with invoices as this programme is a fully tax deductible business expense. Please email admin@funnywomen.com for payment terms.
All profits after costs go towards funding the next stage of The Glitter Project. Your fee will include all comedy coaching and mentoring, expert facilitators, venue hire and promotion – you will cover your own transport and accommodation costs for Edinburgh.
Harriet Minter, speaker, coach, author and 2025 Glitter Challenger said:
“The support and guidance from the mentors and workshops were invaluable, I felt like I improved a thousand times over with the advice they gave. You won’t find a more confidence building, life-enhancing opportunity out there.”
THE GLITTER PROJECT
Funds raised by The Glitter Challenge are supporting The Glitter Project – A Safe Place which provides safe, inclusive and accessible places for women to explore their creativity, develop self-confidence and be inspired through comedy.
Launched in autumn 2024 with funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and a BBC Comedy Grant, we went on to run a programme of regional Mentoring Meetups and Open Mics in six locations up until May this year. We also have a presence at other arts festivals including Brighton Fringe and Leicester Comedy Festival.
Please read about why we created The Glitter Project and the incredible woman who inspired us, Jo Fletcher-Cross. Together we’ve created an amazing legacy which Jo writes about in her article about paying it forward with a bit of glitter.
Robin Golinski, executive business coach from USA and 2025 Glitter Challenger said:
“It’s a wonderful soul filling experience to make others laugh and be heard. As part of the Glitter Challenge you receive incredible support, friendship and mentorship.
“You won’t regret it, and they won’t let you fail.”
Read more about the experiences of our 2025 Glitter Challengers here.
If you want to take part please email info@funnywomen.com with ‘I’m up for the Challenge’ in the header.
