Bassem Youssef will play the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Mark your calendars. Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef is set to make you laugh out loud, as he brings his Belly of the Beast Tour to the Royal Albert Hall in London. The show takes place on 14 June 2026, and here’s how to get hold of tickets.
Prepare for some side-splitting comedy as Bassem brings his witty sense of humour to the stage. His journey remains one of the most compelling in contemporary comedy. Trained as a heart surgeon in Cairo, he pivoted during the Arab Spring and went on to host Al Bernameg, the Middle East’s first political satire show. What began as a five-minute YouTube upload became the region’s first online-to-TV crossover and its most-watched programme, drawing 30 million weekly viewers and more than a million YouTube subscribers.
International media dubbed him “The Egyptian Jon Stewart”, but interrogations and arrest forced a move to the United States, where he built a global career across stand-up and screen. His international recognition includes being named one of the “100 most influential people in the world” by Time magazine in 2013. His October 2023 interview with Piers Morgan also went viral, clocking up millions of views.
FACT interviewed him about the tour ahead of its arrival in the Middle East. He shared: “I’m a little bit worried about this show because it’s heavier. It’s a more personal journey that a lot of Arab immigrants feel right now, which is why I named the show Belly of the Beast. I talk about what it means to be living in today’s superpower. To be part of a country that is inflicting a lot of pain onto the rest of the world. You’re in it and don’t approve of it, but also get to enjoy the perks of being in a rich superpower.”
Tickets to see Bassem Youssef in London go on sale from 27 February.
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GO: Visit www.royalalberthall.com for more information.