Refined With a Forecast of Funny as Business Bods Prepare to Take Centre Stage

16th October 2014

In just over a weeks' time, 9 high profile business leaders from Sheffield will take to the stage at the City Hall to find out who is the funniest of them all.

In a bid to raise as much money as possible for Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, the participants will each deliver a 5 minute comedy sketch to a packed out venue where 4 judges will decide their funny fate. Now into its third year, Funny Business Sheffield is a unique event organised by Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, in association with the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event sees the comical contestants undergo a five week training regime with policeman turned creative comic, Alfie Moore before bravely taking to the stage to showcase their new-fangled talents on October 23rd in their home town. The high profile participants include Nigel Short, (Managing Director, Voot), Martin Loxley, (Partner, Irwin Mitchell Solicitors), Jim Richardson (Head of Resilience, Yorkshire Ambulance), Mick Lee (Managing Director, Constant Security), Martin Miles Moore (Physiotherapist, RAF) Tracey Cheetham (Councillor, Barnsley), Steve Knowles (Director, Knowles Warwick), Matt Morris (Orthopaedic Surgeon, One Health Group) and David Throssell (Medical Director, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals). Deputy Charity Director, Tina Harrison said, -We are extremely excited for this years Funny Business event which includes some extremely influential business people from across the city. -Over the last few weeks, in preparation for the big event, the participants have put their all into honing their stand- up skills and are hoping for lots of laughs on the night! -As well as raising sponsorship, each participant is eager to help raise the profile of their local cancer hospital and highlight the vital services which it provides for cancer patients across our region. -The event is certain to be a sell-out and we hope that yet again we will raise funds which ultimately make a big difference to a person receiving treatment at Weston Park Hospital today and in the future. The money raised from individual sponsorship and ticket sales will go towards funding a wide variety of projects for Weston Park Hospital, including the completion of the new Clinical Research Unit and the Day Case reception refurbishment. The event is being generously sponsored by Hampton by Hilton, Sheffield who will host the after party on the night of the 23rd. General Manager, Peter Hendry said, -For us to be involved with Funny Business was an easy decision. Combining both a fantastic charity and a great event that brings the city together was something we wanted to get involved with. Being a new business in the city it is important we show our support and commitment to our local community. There is a great deal of respect and admiration to be given to the contestants, and having witnessed some of the rehearsals, we are definitely in for another fabulous event. We are also looking forward to welcoming everyone back to the after show party at Marcos New York Italian. Weston Park Hospital is one of only four specialist cancer hospitals in England and treats patients from all over South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire and North Derbyshire a population of almost 1.8million people. Funny Business Participant and Director of Knowles Warwick, Steve Knowles, who has already raised an incredible £1291.00 ahead of the event said, -It is hard to know why we do these things, for me it seemed less tiring that doing a marathon, safer that an abseil, and less sore than a cross country bike ride. Training in a bar for 5 weeks for 2 hours I have managed to do sitting down! -I think the evening will be a huge adrenaline rush and we will all be ok if there are enough buckets and toilets! This year, in celebration of its 20th anniversary, the cancer charity needs to raise over £2 million to fund a wide range of projects that will keep Weston Park Hospital at the forefront of cancer treatment. There are just a few remaining tickets available which can be purchased online for £15 each at www.funnybusinesssheffield.org.uk or by calling the charity office on 01142265370. For those who can't come along to the event, the participants can be individually sponsored at http://www.justgiving.com/teams/FBSheffield