Giant purple upside-down cow coming to the South Bank

Udderbelly has been a fixture at the Edinburgh Festival for the past three summers and this year it is coming to new pasture on the Hungerford Car Park between the Royal Festival Hall and Jubilee Gardens.

E4 Udderbelly will graze on the South Bank from 27 May to 19 July as part of Southbank Centre's summer season. Joan Rivers will launch the venue with five nights of stand-up shows.

The rest of the programme includes include Tom Tom Crew, David O'Doherty, Rhod Gilbert, Camille, Jason Byrne, Clive James, Gina Yashere, Reg D Hunter, Jimeoin, Katy Brand, The Terrible Infants, Scroobius Pip and Beardyman with ticket prices ranging from £10 (with £7 concessions) to £30.

"Our Udderbelly venue was designed to be an accessible space for all audiences," say Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, directors of Underbelly.

"It's extraordinary to look at and a fantastic venue in which to watch a show. We hope that our affordable season of live entertainment, in conjunction with Southbank Centre, will excite and entertain people of all ages and interests.

"And we hope that the unique atmosphere of Udderbelly and its surrounding Pasture will add to an already thriving Southbank Centre site this summer."

Southbank Centre will be working with Underbelly to set up a venue management training programme for young people.

The Hungerford Car Park site has been used for a variety of events over the years. Local campaigners would like to see Jubilee Gardens extended right up to the railway viaduct but the British Film Institute has ambitions to create a new film centre on the site to replace BFI Southbank.

In 2005 and 2006 plans for a temporary summer 'beach' on the car park failed to materialise after planning wrangles and contractual disputes.