Thursday 8 – Sunday 11 July, 2021

The Carnival Party will kick the festival off in style on Thursday 8 July with stilt walkers and dancers celebrating Baroque Venetian traditions. Walkabout in Merchant City will have amazing acts around Merchant Square and the surrounding streets across the weekend with performers dressed as limestone creatures, turtles and aliens. Surge’s In the City Still – Feathers Ensemble will use music, movement and projections to take the audience on a thought-provoking journey on the Saturday and Sunday.

The festival will take over the iconic centre of the city, lighting up George Square with dynamic dance and circus performances like Swings (All or Nothing Aerial), an MCF commission, where aerialists will take to giant swings with an interactive soundscape. World class company Motionhouse bring their breath-taking show Wild – a daring tour de force dance-circus performance exploring our relationship with the natural environment.

Meanwhile, Surge Festival at Barrowland Park will showcase bonkers cabaret performances with weird and wonderful interactive activities for the whole family, including nest building, marble filling and digital sculpting.

All events will be free to attend, with the exception of the Walking Tour which has a small charge, but tickets to outdoor performances at George Square and Barrowland Park will need to be pre-booked online at merchantcityfestival.com to ensure numbers are managed in the safest way.

George Square performances from 11am – 6.45pm from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 July and Barrowland Park performances from 12.30pm – 5.00pm on Saturday 10 to Sunday 11 July.