Aberdeen International Comedy Festival teams up with Mental Health Aberdeen for its upcoming edition

Organisers of the Aberdeen International Comedy Festival will be encouraging visitors to dig deep for a north-east mental health charity this year.

The comedy festival returns in October, with a variety of performers lined up for various venues across the city.

Now Aberdeen Inspired has named Mental Health Aberdeen (MHA) the official charity for the event.

Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, said: “The therapeutic benefits of laughter to mental health are well known and alongside the fundraising element to this partnership, we hope it can also help reach out to an audience of people who may find it difficult to talk about their mental health.

“The charity will have a presence across all of the shows during the festival and we’re sure we can count on the generosity of the public to help make a difference to such a worthy cause.”

Astrid Whyte, chief executive officer for MHA, said: “We have watched this wonderful event grow across the past few years and cannot believe that we have been given this incredible platform to share our message, and potentially help more people across the north-east as a result.”