A night of Independence Referendum jokes, two dates with Miranda and the biggest programme yet will be launched by the Glasgow International Comedy Festival today.

The festival, which is putting 105,000 tickets on sale for 416 shows at 46 venues, will run from March 14 to April 5.

Special shows will mark the Year of Homecoming, the Commonwealth Games and the independence referendum.

Comedian Miranda Hart is performing two nights at the SSE Hydro, which if they both sell out will be the biggest shows yet staged at the festival.

The referendum will be the subject of a special event on March 31 when Rory Bremner will host a show at the Citizens Theatre to "take the nation's political temperature" while in the Mibbes Aye, Mibbes Naw event, chaired by Iain Macwhirter, the "yes and no campaigns have been challenged to win their argument through humour".

Other acts at the festival, now in its 12th year, include Dorothy Paul, Pam Ann, Ruby Wax, Omid Djalili, Jerry Sadowitz, and a gala benefit evening for Glasgow's hospice featuring Canadian comic Stewart Francis.

Rich Hall, Josh Widdicombe, Seann Walsh and Russell Kane will be at the Garage, Simon Evans, Miles Jupp and Shappi Khorsandi at the Citizens Theatre and Sean Hughes "Penguins" show will be at Oran Mor.

Scottish comics include Des Clarke, Raymond Mearns, Susan Calman, Craig Hill, Bruce Morton, and Billy Kirkwood. There will be a Homecoming Comedy Gala on April 5 and a Commonwealth Stand Up night on March 22.

Tommy Sheppard, director of the festival organiser's the Scottish Comedy Agency, said: "This is a big year for Glasgow and Scotland. I'm delighted to say we've got a programme which steps up to the mark. This is our biggest and most ambitious line-up yet and is set to do our city proud."

He added: "I am definitely noticing the referendum coming up in stand up acts, but it is a tricky subject for comedy. It is definitely becoming part of people's shows but it is how you do it that matters."

Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said: "We're well used to staging major events with huge international appeal and we're looking forward to a Festival that will be the biggest on record."