The Comedy Carpet Blackpool

Laid out in front of Blackpool Tower in Englands famous seaside resort, the Comedy Carpet is the largest work of public art in Europe. Thousands of jokes and quotations by more than 850 comedians and writers from the early days of variety to the present are set in 2,200 square meters of granite and concrete in a design inspired by theater posters and bill stickers. From Tommy Cooper, Mae West, and Bob Hope to Frank Carson, Groucho Marx, and Ricky Gervais, the Comedy Carpet is a unique celebration of comic genius—as well as an extraordinary feat of design and construction.

Gordon Young was director of the Welsh Sculpture Trust before becoming a full-time artist. Graham McCann is the bestselling author of books on Cary Grant, Woody Allen, and Marilyn Monroe.