Some Highlights: Glasgow 850 Celebrations Events

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Some Highlights: Glasgow 850 Celebrations Events

Events celebrating Glasgow’s 850th birthday will run throughout 2025.

Clyde Chorus (29-30 May): Launching with a procession around Pacific Quay led by the Lord Provost, this three-day multi-genre musical event with a focus on homegrown and local talent, will take place at iconic venues along the River Clyde, including the SEC Armadillo, SWG3, The Briggait, Pearce Institute, and The Savings Bank. Expect a blend of classical, contemporary, Celtic, and country music, with sessions each day showcasing Glasgow’s rich music scene. Sessions will be ticketed but prices kept low to allow as many people as possible to attend.

People’s Palace Pop-Up (June to November): With the People’s Palace undergoing refurbishment, this free pop-up exhibition will tour various communities across the city, bringing Glasgow’s social history to life through historic artefacts, paintings, prints, and photographs by celebrated amateur photographer Eric Watt. Venues will include libraries, community centres and sports hubs throughout the 23 wards in the city.

Taste the Place: More than 40 eateries have enlisted to participate in Taste the Place, a series of free self-guided experiences designed to celebrate (and show off) a key ingredient in Glasgow’s vibrant culture – its food scene. Each experience has been created to offer inspiration for discovering new foods and culinary experiences, all served from independent businesses who call Glasgow home. Participants include Glasgow’s oldest sweetie shop, new and emerging international cuisines.

Glasgow 850 Festival Fund: Created to support and enhance existing established city events and festivals to include Glasgow 850 themes and activities in their programming for 2025, highlights include the Glasgow International Comedy Festival’s special event, ‘Gray Matters: A Laugh for Glasgow’s 850 Years’; Glasgow Film Festival’s youth and community takeover days offering free cinema experiences; Yardworks urban art festival at SWG3; Glasgow Mela’s new commissions, on-stage collaboration and workshops celebrating the city’s multicultural legacy; and Rockstar Energy presents TRNSMT’s Glasgow 850 sponsored River Stage, showcasing local talent.

Other Events include activities in July to mark the feast day of St Teneu, also known as St Enoch, who was the mother of St Mungo – the patron saint of Glasgow and a celebration, in October, of Glasgow’s Gaelic heritage and thriving present day community, marking one year to go until the Royal National Mod Gaelic festival returns to the city.

During the summer, Glasgow 850 will be supporting Glasgow Life with their successful Summer of Fun activities, for young people to stay active during the school holidays.

The Glasgow 850 programme will be updated and refreshed during the summer to reflect the events and activities taking place during the second half of 2025.

To view the full programme click here and remember there are lots of ways to get involved in Glasgow 850, please see the website here for information on attending events, organising your own event, volunteering and much more.