3rd Macao International Comedy Festival announces highlights

The 3rd Macao International Comedy Festival will return from April 9 to 12, organizers announced at a press conference held in the Macao Special Administrative Region on April 1.

Government officials and organizers on stage at the press conference for the 3rd Macao International Comedy Festival in Macao, China, April 1, 2026. [Photo courtesy of Mahua Fun Age]

The event will continue its "one festival, two venues" format, with performances and activities taking place across Macao and the neighboring Hengqin district of Zhuhai. It is a collaborative effort between Mahua Fun Age, Damai Entertainment and the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region, supported by local government departments and enterprises.

Han Mei, CEO of Mahua Fun Age, a comedy production company, said both festival collaborators and comedy megastars Shen Teng and Ma Li will serve as jurors, along with comedians Allen Ai and Chang Yuan. The panel will personally select young Macao performers to sign with the company at the opening ceremony, helping Cantonese-language comedy talents turn their passion into a profession whilst further expanding the industry.

"In this way, the comedy festival is gradually becoming an important pillar in promoting the development of Macao's cultural industry," Han said.

From April 10 to 12, the festival will feature immersive shows at Anim'Arte Nam Van along the Nam Van Lake. Inspired by Macao's 400-year history of East-West exchange, the venue will feature interactive actors portraying historical figures like Alessandro Valignano, Tang Xianzu and Matteo Ricci during the day, followed by immersive comedy musicals across multiple stages at night. On April 11, a Gala Night featuring surprise celebrity guests will take place by the lakeside.

On April 11, an industry summit will take place, followed by a closing roundtable dialogue on April 12. This closing dialogue offers in-depth discussions from both those within the industry those with the perspective of those with hands-on creative work. The closing roundtable is themed "How Does Comedy Survive in the Age of Efficiency?" It will bring together Chinese and international comedy creators, AIGC experts, platform executives and psychology scholars to explore the boundaries of comedy at the intersection of technology and human nature.

Han said the cultural performance industry will usher in an unprecedented boom due to AI's explosion. This year's theme song features a music video made with AI, a move Han described as a practical step in embracing industry shifts.

"The more advanced technology becomes, the more people need warm, heartfelt content," Han said.

The executive expressed her hope that the festival will grow into a high-quality cultural tourism IP with international influence, injecting momentum into the high-quality development of the cultural industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

During the festival, the Hengqin venue will host a concentrated showcase of comedy performances, bringing together diverse styles of new comedic works to demonstrate the limitless possibilities of comedy creation. At the same time, this year's festival will also feature a stand-up season, gathering talented stand-up comedians to deliver laughter-packed live shows for audiences in Macao. A forum will focus on female creators, inviting women in comedy to share how they use humor to break boundaries, ensuring that "her stories" are seen and celebrated.

Since its inaugural edition, the Macao International Comedy Festival has grown into a major brand in the Chinese-language comedy world. The first two editions achieved 5.4 billion online views.