Finnish stand-up comedian Ismo Leikola has sold out the iconic Sydney Opera House as part of his Watch Your Language world tour.
The Jyväskylä native performed to the full capacity of 2,700 people on Sunday evening.
In a post on Instagram, Leikola wrote that following in the footsteps of world-famous musicians and world-class orchestras by selling out the opera house venue was "quite a nice thing".
"Everyone in the world knows it," Leikola told Yle. "It's more famous than Madison Square Garden. It's great that I was able to do the gig and even better to sell it out. It's a milestone."
The Australian leg of his world tour ends with a gig in Brisbane on Tuesday, before he moves on to the United States.
"The gigs have sold incredibly well. New Zealand and Australia have been almost full. Some have a few spaces, most of them are completely sold out," Leikola said.
The Finnish comedian is renowned for his observations about the peculiarities of language, and he told Yle that in Australia he has adapted his show to talk about the country's accent, sayings and culture.
"Of course, I have stuff that only works in Finland or stuff created in the United States that is aimed at audiences there. But many [jokes] are quite general and they work anywhere," he explained, adding that he usually tweaks things for a local audience "to some extent".
He further noted that not speaking English as a first language can be an advantage, as — by his own estimate — half of the people who come to his shows also speak a language other than English as their mother tongue.
"They can relate to me or at least understand my stuff. Locals [comedians] speak quickly, and maybe use slang. You can't understand anything," he said.
From small comedy clubs to the Sydney Opera House
Leikola began his stand-up career in Finland during the early 2000s, performing at small comedy clubs.
His big break came in 2014, when he was voted the "funniest person in the world" by the Laugh Factory comedy club in Los Angeles.
Leikola moved to the US in 2016 where he has appeared on talk shows hosted by Conan O'Brien and James Corden, as well as performing at a host of comedy clubs and venues — often to audiences of thousands.
A Finnish language documentary about Leikola — called Ismo: Maailman hauskin ulkopuolinen (Ismo: The World's Funniest Outsider) — was released in Finland at the beginning of this month.
The All Points North podcast asked if stand-up comedy was the cure for Finland's November blues. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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