Richard Pryor and his wife were among the judges for the award

Judged by respected comedian Pryor and his wife Jennifer among others, last year's �1,000 prize was won by Egyptian US comic Ahmed Ahmed.

But organiser Revolver Entertainment cancelled the 2005 award after failing to secure sponsorship.

Revolver said it hoped to reinstate the Richard Pryor award next year.

'Extremely disappointing'

"This is extremely disappointing for everyone concerned," said Revolver spokesman Justin Marciano, who described the inaugural award as "a great success".

"We've since received enquiries about entering this year's award, and support from the industry, some of whom have kindly come forward with many ideas of how to make the award better and stronger," he added.

Only 16 acts were eligible for last year's Richard Pryor award, which aimed to attract a greater diversity of comedy acts to the festival.

Last year's winner Ahmed said the award boosted interest in his stand-up career, but comic Reginald D Hunter criticised the prize, saying he did not want "to be given something because I'm black".