The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance. The evening's performances showcase a variety of family entertainment, including comedy, singing, dance, magic and other speciality acts, with many of the performers and hosts being popular celebrities—a variety show. The event is organised on behalf of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund of which Elizabeth II is patron. All proceeds are donated to the fund.

The performance is televised to the public and is considered by many to be a tradition of the Christmas season, being held late in November, or early in December. ITV is now the sole broadcaster, having shared that responsibility with the BBC from 1986 to 2010.

The performance is a New Year's tradition in Norway, where it is broadcast at 00:00 on 1 January. Several other European countries also broadcast the show.

A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts (hence the name), especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère (master of ceremonies) or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling and ventriloquism. The variety format made its way from Victorian era stage to radio to television. Variety shows were a staple of anglophone television from its early days into the 1970s, and lasted into the 1980s. In several parts of the world, variety TV remains popular and widespread.

The format is basically that of music hall in the United Kingdom (UK) or vaudeville in the United States (US). Variety in the UK evolved in theatres and music halls, and later in Working Men's Clubs. Most of the early top performers on British television and radio did an apprenticeship either in stage variety, or during World War II in Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). In the UK, the ultimate accolade for a variety artist for decades was to be asked to do the annual Royal Command Performance at the London Palladium theatre, in front of the monarch.

Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is a British stand-up comedian. As well as his stand-up, he has performed on programmes such as Live at the Apollo and has his own programme, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow.

McIntyre has released two stand-up DVDs; Live and Laughing in 2008 featured material from his first nationwide tour, while Michael McIntyre: Hello Wembley was released in November 2009 following a set at Wembley Arena. The former was the fastest selling debut stand-up DVD ever, and Hello Wembley is the fastest selling stand-up DVD in UK chart history, selling over a million copies. In 2009 McIntyre performed live to half a million people and won Best Live Stand-up at the British Comedy Awards.

In 2010, McIntyre released his autobiography, Life and Laughing: My Story, and also became the youngest-ever host of the Royal Variety Performance. He started as a judge on the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent in April 2011. He is to embark on his second nationwide tour in 2012.

Greg Davies is a Welsh stand-up comedian and actor best known for his roles as Greg in We Are Klang and Mr. Gilbert in The Inbetweeners and his guest appearances in Mock the Week and Fast and Loose. He has performed on the BBC's Live at the Apollo series.

Davies is noted for his stature - he stands at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) tall, and has size 13 feet - and also his resemblance to Rik Mayall.

Davies was born in St Asaph, Wales but his parents moved across the border to Shropshire soon after his birth. He grew up in Wem, a small market town in Shropshire where his parents still live and he regularly visits. He was educated at Thomas Adams School. Prior to embarking on a career in comedy, he had taught secondary school drama and English for 13 years.

Davies has performed on the BBC's Live at the Apollo, and has regularly appeared on the guest panel for Channel 4's 8 out of 10 Cats and the BBC's Mock the Week. He took part in World's Most Dangerous Roads hosted by Ben Fogle, in which he and Rhod Gilbert drove from Nepal's border with India to the border with China.

Paul Zerdin (born 1972) is an English comedian/ventriloquist. That Paul should choose a career in the entertainment industry is not entirely unexpected as both his parents attended drama school and his mother went on to become a BBC Radio 2 presenter and his father a producer for the BBC World Service.

When Paul Zerdin was 10 a family friend made him a puppet theatre which he used to put on shows, a hobby which quickly grew into an obsession. The real turning point for Paul was when he was given a book on ventriloquism written by the legendary Ray Alan and it was not long before he was spending half an hour a day in front of the mirror practicing talking without moving his lips. When Paul was 17 he got a part-time job at Davenports’ Magic and began to develop his own magic skills along the way and became a children’s entertainer as a sideline.

In 1990 Paul Zerdin made his television debut as a magician in Tricky Business, a BBC TV children’s sitcom, returning a year later in Hangar 17 at which point he debuted his act as a ventriloquist. Paul also started working in holiday camps and working men’s clubs honing his skills. In 1992 Paul landed a two year-contract presenting the Disney produced kids’ programme Rise and Shine for GMTV which saw the introduction of Paul’s puppet character Sam. Paul’s appearances on Rise and Shine led to his first work in Pantomime and he is now a Panto veteran with 16 shows to his credit and a future starring role in the Christmas 2011 Qdos production of Robinson Crusoe in Cardiff. Between 1994 and 1996 Paul continued with his shows around the UK’s holiday camps, and working men’s clubs. During this time he also did guest spots on shows like The O-Zone, Disney Club and To Me To You with The Chuckle Brothers.