The Cologne Comedy Festival is an international festival of comedy held in Cologne, Germany every year since 1991. The festival initially started by importing comedians from around the world. During the 1990's, stand-up comedy became popular with young German audiences, who had experienced it whilst living outside Germany. This led to home-grown comedy acts, which in turn led to the growth of the festival, to its present point, where many of the brightest stars of German and international comedy perform to sold-out houses in over 20 venues, ranging from small clubs to large theatres. Many German comedy acts have been discovered via the festival.
