Glasgow reveals city's 850th birthday celebration events

Established festivals have been awarded funds to enhance their programmes in 2025

Glasgow's birthday celebrations have been revealed 100 days ahead of the start of the city's 850th anniversary year.

A three-day music event, a pop-up social history exhibition and a food trail will be the foundation of the 2025 line-up, the city council said.

Established festivals and venues have been awarded funds to enhance their programmes in the city to mark the anniversary.

The Lord Provost will also host a civic programme of events in 2025 celebrating Glasgow's famous faces and community champions.

Events include a three-day Clyde Chorus event at the end of May, with performers from many musical genres performing in venues along the banks of the river.

A pop-up exhibition showing how Glaswegians of the past lived and worked will display some of the treasures from the People's Palace while the museum is closed for refurbishment.

Taste the Place - a self-guided online trail - will be launched in April to show the history of Glasgow's hospitality businesses and share the stories of the people who brought their traditional cuisines to the city.

Four Glasgow 850 badges - the bird, tree, bell and fish - are taken from the city coat of arms

The city council has created a £100,000 fund to "enhance" existing established city events and festivals by including Glasgow 850 themes in their programming for 2025.

So far 10 organisations have received grants of up to £10,000 each.

These include GlasGLOW, Irish Roots, Glasgow Mela and Glasgow Film Theatre.

Six festivals also received funding - TRNSMT, Yardworks, St Mungo Festival 2025, Merchant City Festival, Glasgow International Comedy Festival and the Glasgow International Piping Festival.

Finlay MacDonald, artistic director of the piping festval, said Glasgow had played a "significant role in shaping the piping tradition" since the industrial revolution.

"Through our events in 2025, we want Glasgow's citizens to feel connected to the city's piping history and have ownership of this piece of our culture as part of the city's heritage and future," he said.

A modern representation of a robin being saved by Glasgow founder Saint Mungo features in a mural in the city

Glasgow was given its official charter by William the Lionheart in 1175, but settlements date back to prehistoric times and the city was officially founded in the 6th Century by the Christian missionary Saint Mungo.

Cllr Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said she was looking forward to the "big milestone in our city's journey".

"This curated programme, which will be added to throughout the year, with activity in all 23 wards of the city, gives us a reason to celebrate what makes Glasgow unique and explore how we see our future," she said.

"It's also a chance to share our stories about the place we love and the place we call home."

The celebrations will use branding based on badges symbolising the city's achievements and "sources of past, present and future pride".

Designed by Glasgow-based firm Tangent, the badge idea was based on how people use physical badges to visually represent who they are - reflecting passions, achievements and allegiances.

GCC chief executive Susanne Miller said the Glasgow 850 brand was an imaginative and inclusive way for people to "express what Glasgow means to them".

"It acknowledges the contributions of generations who have shaped the city, gives a platform to grow a shared sense of belonging and invites people to guide our future," she added.