Ten semifinalists have been chosen in the first Funniest Person in the World contest, which will be held in the Hollywood branch of iconic American comedy club Laugh Factory. There, the comedians will vie for a spot in the Top 5, selected by a panel of judges.
The finals will then move to Las Vegas where the Funniest Person in the World will be crowned on October 24 via an online audience vote. Videos of each contestant are uploaded on the Laugh Factory website.
The 10 semifinalists in the World’s Funniest Person competition are:
Mustapha Al Atrassi, France
Born in France to a Moroccan family, Al Atrassi began doing stand-up as a teenager. He appeared in a one-man show in Paris at age 16 and two years later had his own sitcom in Morocco. Since 2008, he’s hosted a morning radio show in France.
Ishmo Leikola, Finland
He does stand-up in both English and Finnish, appearing at clubs throughout Europe. He won his country’s stand-up rookie of the year award in 2003 and has been honoured five times as the favourite performer at Tomatoes! Tomatoes!, the Nordic countries’ largest comedy festival.
Vittorrio Leonardi, South Africa
Leonardi has appeared in comedy clubs throughout South Africa and taught comedy at St. Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls in Pretoria. He’s also the resident emcee at several South African comedy clubs.
Sa’ad Haroon, Pakistan
A founding member of the Pakistani improvisational group Blackfish and other comedy troupes, Haroon also created the English-language Pakistani show The Real News, a mix of political and social satire. He’s performed on comedy tours in several countries, including the United States.
Nitin Mirani, United Arab Emirates
Mirani bills himself as “Dubai’s much-loved comedic genius”. He has performed his Komic Sutra comedy show in India, the United States, Britain, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Maldives and several Middle Eastern countries. The publication DNA India called his show, “A laugh riot!”
Archie Bezos, Spain
Bezos has been described as a Spanish pioneer among openly gay comedians. He made his TV debut in 2012 with an appearance on a Comedy Central show featuring upcoming comedians. The following year, he won the top award at Madrid’s FIC comedy festival and recently toured Spain with his Gay’s Anatomy comedy show.
Vivek Mahbubani, an ethnic Indian comic representing China
Mahbubani, who performs in English and Cantonese, was honoured as Hong Kong’s funniest Chinese comedian in 2007 and its funniest English-language comedian in 2008.
Tiffany Haddish, USA
Raised in foster homes in Los Angeles, Haddish says her social worker steered her toward a comedy camp for children after hearing her stories about her imaginary friends. She’s appeared on Def Comedy Jam, Comedy Central’s Reality Bites and recently took part in a USO Comedy Tour to entertain US military personnel in Japan.
Waddah Swar, Saudi Arabia
Originally from Bahrain, Swar has been described by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the pioneers of Middle Eastern comedy. He won the Funniest in the Arab World competition at the Kit Kat Comedy Break Show in Dubai in 2013.
Lioz Shem Tov, Israel
A visual comedian, Tov frequently uses a range of props to work comically bad magic tricks into his act, which he can perform in either Hebrew or English. He made it to the semifinal round of the NBC series Last Comic Standing in 2008.
