Festival to transform Amman into comedy hub

AMMAN – Comedy is set to take centre stage in the capital under next month’s Amman Stand-Up Comedy Festival, Amman Mayor Omar Maani said on Monday.
The four-day nonprofit cultural event, which will take place between December 2-5 at Al Hussein Cultural Centre, will feature a line-up comprised of some 20 leading Jordanian, Arab and foreign comedians and performers, Maani said at a press conference yesterday to announce the event.
“The festival is developed in close collaboration with the critically acclaimed New York Arab-American Comedy Festival, piloting an activity with aims to grow in stature year after year,” Maani said, highlighting the role the city can play as a platform for stand-up comedy across the region.
“The festival will position Amman as a pioneering city that embraces, creates, and hosts stand-up comedy, attracting headlining performers from the Middle East, the US and Europe,” the mayor said, adding that such events will provide the city with positive international exposure.
“We, at the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), anticipate that the festival will increase tourist traffic to the city during the month of December, while also placing Jordan and its talent pool on the international map of comedy,” Maani noted.