The president of a Quebec-based leisure group says he’s reviving the Montreal Simply For Laughs pageant with a scaled-down 2024 occasion that features exhibits by Dane Cook dinner, Bassem Youssef and Bobby Slayton.

ComediHa! CEO Sylvain Dad or mum-Bédard says it’s a “miracle” the corporate is ready to announce a July lineup solely weeks after buying quite a few property from the financially troubled Only for Laughs comedy firm.

Only for Laughs cancelled its Montreal and Toronto festivals earlier this 12 months and sought creditor safety, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and the altering leisure business for its monetary woes.

Dad or mum-Bédard’s ComediHa! introduced earlier this month {that a} choose permitted its bid to amass the manufacturers Juste pour rire, Simply For Laughs, Zoofest, ComedyPro, the Gags, in addition to the audiovisual catalogue.

Dad or mum-Bédard says the English facet of the pageant can be smaller than in earlier years, however he says it’s necessary for the corporate to ship a sign to followers and the business that the occasion isn’t completed.

The 2024 pageant runs from July 18 to twenty-eight and can function a free out of doors efficiency by Cook dinner, about 15 exhibits at numerous venues, and a closing present that has but to be introduced.