German comic plays to 70,000

Chris Rock’s record for the biggest live comedy audience has been shattered – just weeks after he set it.

The stand-up played to 14,500 people at the O2 Arena in London at the end of May.

But at the weekend, German comedian Mario Barth filled Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, selling an estimated 70,000 seats.

Although 35-year-old Barth is a huge success, filling a stadium Madonna has yet to sell out for her current tour, critics in Germany have dubbed him an hack.

The Deutshce Welle website said he was ‘as subtle as whoopee cushion’ and desribed his act as ‘uninspired but time-honored gags about men who like beer and fast cars, and girlfriends who shop and chat constantly… punctuated by tireless references to flatulence’.

Before the show, Barth said Jerry Seinfeld was perplexed when he heard of the world record attempt. ‘He couldn’t imagine that a single man would perform in front of so many people,’ Barth said.

The comedian had been touring Germany with his show since the beginning of 2006, and it has been seen by an estimated 1.6million people.

Here he is on TV:

Published: 14 Jul 2008