Underbelly's distinctive upside-down purple cow venue is back on London's Southbank for a 6th year.

The laid-back Udderbelly Festival is offering up another packed programme of comedy this year, as it runs daily from the 10th April to the 13th July 2014.

The festival, which has become a firm favourite of Londoners (last year over 127,000 tickets were sold), puts comedy at the heart of its programme.

Stars performing their hour-long shows at the festival this year include Omid Djalili, Tony Law, Susan Calman, The Horne Section, Ed Byrne, Nina Conti, Richard Herring, Andrew Maxwell and Zoe Lyons.

For those not sure who to take a punt on, mixed-bill format favourites Best Of The Comedy Store and the unique Comedy In The Dark are back. There's also the rudeness of late-night Spank! shows to enjoy, or the more family-friendly Comedy Club 4 Kids in the programme.

The Southbank Centre gives the festival its prime spot each year. Jude Kelly says: "A purple upside down cow at Southbank Centre has become the signal that summer's returned. Every year the programme has a whole host of exciting new ideas. There's no need to go to any other green field festival in my opinion, our small pasture has all the excitement necessary."

From May, the Udderbelly Festival will once again be joined by London Wonderground, the summer-long celebration of the best cabaret, circus and sideshows set in the 1920s Spiegeltent.

Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, the Directors of Underbelly, say: "This will be our 6th year of Udderbelly Festival and 3rd year of London Wonderground and we've assembled a stronger than ever programme. We're delighted to be continuing our commitment to presenting genuinely affordable and accessible festivals in the very heart of London. Both festivals have their own unique identities but we strive to create a laid back, safe and welcoming environment in both. None of this would be possible without Southbank Centre's ongoing support and collaboration on both events. We look forward to welcoming more Londoners than ever to our festivals this year."

To find out more about all the shows on at the Udderbelly Festival and to book tickets visit www.underbelly.co.uk

Here is a timelapse video showing the site being set up:

If you head to the venue, do keep an eye out for Violet the cuddly cow. Here she is starring in her latest video: