Event Description The NY Laughs Festival is New York City's citywide comedy festival — a 4-day, multi-venue celebration of live stand-up across some of the most iconic stages in Manhattan. Created by nonprofit NYLaughs — known for free performances in iconic NYC spaces — in partnership with The Stand Group, the city's leading comedy operator, and produced with Live Nation, the festival captures the explosive energy of today's comedy scene at the exact moment the art form is booming. The Stand Group brings deep credibility to the partnership — a leading comedy brand best known for its flagship Union Square venue (with Westside and Miami locations coming soon), a partner in the Staten Island Ferry project with Pete Davidson and Colin Jost, that can also be activated during the festival with the Presenting Sponsor package. The talent network is world-class. Potential headliners include Dave Chappelle, Shane Gillis, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Nate Bargatze, Nikki Glazer, Pete Davidson, Michelle Wolf, Andrew Schulz, Tim Dillon, Michael Che, Mark Normand, Taylor Tomlinson, and Marcello Hernandez — plus 30+ additional comedians including Matt Friend (2M followers), Natalie Cuomo (1.3M), Kam Patterson (732K), Sienna Hubert-Ross (526K), Sahib Singh (515K), Big Jay Oakerson (436K), Chris Redd (262K), and many more. Stand-up comedy has tripled in size over the last decade (Bloomberg), and as Axios put it, "live comedy is booming, and everyone is winning." The NY Laughs Festival channels that momentum into a curated, city-spanning experience bringing 50,000 attendees together across three two distinct formats: Comedy in the Square — The festival's signature outdoor activation takes over the north side of Union Square Park with a full stage, a 1,000-person seating area, and curated activations, vendors, and VIP lounges — capturing the energy and summer crowds of Union Square. Each show features ~6 comedians, 1 live music act, and 1 DJ. Comedy Clubs — The festival takes over 3+ top comedy clubs including The Stand, Gotham Comedy, and St. Marks Comedy, offering the classic stand-up experience in the rooms where the comedy scene truly lives. Each show holds 100–150 attendees, with ~25 comedians rotating across the circuit.. The festival's Year 1 proof of concept in 2025 was an immediate hit: 29 events across 4 locations over 4 days, with 3,000+ tickets sold in less than 2 weeks, 500K+ organic impressions driven by talent and UGC, and 50K site visits. Year 2 scales dramatically to 50,000 expected attendees across a vastly expanded 16+ venue footprint. Partners and press include ABC 7, NYC Tourism + Conventions, Mount Sinai, Live Nation, Union Square Partnership, Funny Or Die, and NYLaughs — with coverage in The New York Times ("What to Do in New York City in June"), and multiple outlets covering the festival's Union Square debut.