Update, 11th February: Al Murray announced as headliner. He says: "I can't wait to taste this Austrian Lager I've heard so little about. Bring on Altitude 2014"

The Altitude Comedy Festival 2014 has been announced.

The five day event, which sees many of the UK's best comedians performing in an Austrian ski resort, will this time take place between the 31st March and 4th April 2014.

Notably, John Bishop will return to the festival for a second year in a row. Other comedians set to take part this time include Tommy Tiernan, Terry Alderton, Nina Conti, Craig Campbell, Zoe Lyons and Marcus Brigstocke.

Curated by Andrew Maxwell, the festival takes place in Mayrhofen, Austria. The organisers explain: "Altitude gives you the opportunity to experience arena-filling comedy giants in the fantastically intimate surrounds of its beautiful venues in Mayrhofen, one of Europe's most picturesque ski resorts. With an array of restaurants, luxurious hotels and enticing spas that are second to none, the picture postcard resort offers easy access to the entire Zillertal super-ski area, with 639km of piste and 167 lifts and gondolas, making it the ideal location to fuse a schnapps and schnitzel-fuelled ski holiday with one of the world's top international comedy festivals!

"It's slopes all day and laughs all night with the biggest and best comedians around at Altitude, and that's what makes it so very special. With some amazing performers due to be announced very soon, we kick off this year's line-up with four words, 'The Bish Is Back'. Yes folks, John Bishop had such an amazing time last year he asked if he could come back! As anyone who was there will know, John was a total legend at Altitude and we loved having him with us, so we couldn't possibly say no!

"Catering for all tastes, whether you're a group of friends hitting the black runs by day and looking for fun all night or a heading to the slopes for a relaxing romantic break, Altitude has got all the entertainment you need at the ultimate ski holiday/comedy festival fusion in one of Europe's most reasonably priced resorts!"

Also joining the likes of Bishop, Tiernan, Alderton, Conti, Campbell, Lyons and Brigstocke will be a host of other names familiar to comedy fans. For example, the festival also boasts sets from young Scottish comedian Daniel Sloss, musical improv group Abandoman, rising star Rob Beckett, the hotly tipped Luisa Omelianand Man Down star Roisin Conaty.

Experienced headliner Ian Stone and Impractical Jokers stars Joel Dommett and Paul McCaffrey also feature on the bills.

The sketch group Late Night Gimp Fight will also be putting in an appearance which will be sure to get audiences talking.

It should be noted Altitude doesn't just feature British comedians, there is also an international flavour with the likes of Australia's Damian Clark, America's Alex Edelman and Austrian celebrity Alfred Dorfer set to take part. Additionally Benny Boot will be performing in Deutsch for the first time for a German speaking show, and the International Improv Allstars (Steve Frost, Andy Smart, Ian Coppinger and guests) will be in attendance again.

Commenting on the festival, curator Andrew Maxwell (pictured with John Bishop and Marcus Brigstocke) says: "I can't believe it's come around so quickly again. I'm so excited I want to be there now! We've pulled out all the stops to try and compete with last year's fantastic line-up and we believe we've topped it and then some. Can't wait to see you there!"

Excitingly there are still many more names to be announced between now and March, including "an arena filling headliner." Further announcements will be made via the festival's Facebook page, Twitter feed (@AltitudeComedy) and official website, www.altitudefestival.com

Here's the launch video:

Pricing Details

The festival has teamed up with the travel agency Outgoing to offer a selection of integrated holiday packages for groups of all sizes. Prices start from £349 per person, which includes 4* or above accommodation and a general admission festival ticket. 'Bolt-ons' such as ski hire, lift passes and insurance can be added to this.

To find out more about the packages available visit the festival's website: www.altitudefestival.com

Should you wish to make your own way to Mayrhofen, you can purchase festival tickets direct from ticketline.co.uk. A full festival ticket giving access to 5 days of comedy can be obtained at the time of writing at an early bird price of £162.