Irn Bru hunting and celebrity spotting at COP26

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appealed on social media for a taste of Irn Bru

Forget Tinseltown, Manhattan or London's Primrose Hill, over the last two weeks Glasgow has been the place to spot some of the world's most famous celebrities.

From Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the hunt for Irn Bru, Barack Obama's trip to the student union or Leonardo DiCaprio dining out on the town - COP26 has brought some of the world's biggest names to Scotland.

As well as bringing a touch of glamour to proceedings, the celebrities used their profiles to shine a light on environmental projects close to their hearts.

Barack Obama

President Obama grabbed all the headlines with his summit speech on Monday, when he called on young people to "stay angry" in the fight against climate change.

And he highlighted the plight of island nations which are already suffering due to climate crisis. They are "in many ways the canary in the coal mine," he said.

But he didn't avoid gaffes. Apparently unsure of his geography, he referred to being in the "Emerald Isles" and described Shakespeare as "the Bard" - in Scotland, that title is reserved for Robert Burns.

It didn't affect his reception at a visit to the University of Strathclyde later however. Ahead of a meeting with COP26 youth leaders at the student union, he received a rapturous reception. The union gave the former president a lifetime membership to mark the occasion.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted a photo of Ms Ocasio-Cortez with a can of Irn Bru

US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been chronicling her trip to Scotland on Instagram, set social media alight on Wednesday during her COP26 visit with an appeal to taste Irn Bru.

The Democrat - who is known as AOC - had attended an event on gender and the climate crisis with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.

Responding to questions from followers on social media, she said her schedule was "jammed" but she hoped to see more of Scotland during.

"I want to find some Irn Bru, touch Harris Tweed and see a castle," she said.

Later, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted a photo of herself and Ms Ocasio-Cortez, saying she now had a "supply" of the fizzy drink.

Irn-Bru met with her approval, with the New York Representative saying it reminded her of Kola Champagne - another "soda" popular in Latin America.

Leonardo DiCaprio

UN climate change representative Leonardo DiCaprio was involved in the COP26 summit

The Titanic actor and environmental campaigner is a UN climate change representative. He attended the Kew Carbon Garden exhibit in the first week of the conference.

The night before he was spotted at a fringe event, posing with film producer Paul Goodenough, founder of charity Rewriting Extinction. He also dined out in the city's popular Finnieston area.

DiCaprio has donated millions to environmental organisations and backed ventures such as those producing trainers made from natural materials.

The 46-year-old was recently photographed flying commercially rather than by private jet. It is believed he also travelled to Scotland with a commercial airline.

Idris Elba

Actor Idris Elba wants to use his "big mouth" to amplify the conversation around climate change

The British actor is a goodwill ambassador for the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). He addressed the COP26 summit last Saturday, admitting in his speech that he understands why "people might be a little irritated" to see celebrities weighing in on climate change.

The star of the TV shows Luther and The Wire, and films including Avengers: Infinity War and Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw said he believed he could amplify the conversation around food supply and climate change saying: "One thing I've got is a big mouth."

The 49-year-old discussed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the supply chain, especially on families who were forced to queue for food due to food shortages.

Emma Watson

The 31-year-old Harry Potter star hosted a panel discussion with several climate change campaigners including Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate at the New York Times Climate Hub.

On her Instagram account, she said of the experience: "There is no doubt in my mind that we witnessed a piece of history in Glasgow. I would feel honoured to be in the presence of just one of these women individually (they are all actual superstars who are quite literally making the world a better place) - but to be with them altogether - was almost overwhelming."

While in Glasgow, the actor hid books around the city as part of the book fairies movement. She chose titles related to climate activism for the week-long Book Fairies event.

One of the lucky places where she left several was the Heart of Scotstoun community centre in the west end, where the "fairy" was snapped with staff.

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney and the Duke of Cornwall inspect her vegan football boots

Fashion designer Stella McCartney brought her vision of the future of fashion to Glasgow with a showcase at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Her mission is to make fashion more sustainable.

McCartney has never used leather, feathers, skin or fur in her designs and she showed Prince Charles around her exhibit which showcased the innovative materials she is introducing to the fashion world.

These included Bolt Threads' Mylo mycelium leather, regenerative cotton from Soktas and Econyl regenerated nylon sourced from waste and ocean plastics.

The designer also showcased the world's first vegan football boots, that she created with footballer Paul Pogba and Adidas.

Ellie Goulding

Musician Ellie Goulding spent a day in Glasgow with friend and fellow activist Princess Eugenie.

The 34-year-old singer last year signed an open letter to the UK government calling for more women in decision-making roles at COP26 .

The letter, which was also signed by actor Emma Watson, said the gender balance was "incomprehensible".

Goulding posted to her Instagram account, saying: "Our future generations shouldn't have to inherit a broken planet because we didn't take the opportunity to fix it when we could! Let's go"

Matt Damon

Matt Damon took part in discussions about his charity Water.org

Academy award-winner Matt Damon did not visit Glasgow in person, but took part virtually from New York in a panel discussion about water supply in developing countries.

The 51-year-old is co-founder of Water.org, a charity which brings water and sanitation to deprived communities.

The actor travelled with his mother as a child and saw first-hand extreme poverty in developing countries.

While filming a movie in Africa in 2006, he spent time with families in a Zambian village and after seeing how they lacked access to water and toilets, he founded H20 Africa Foundation to raise awareness about safe water initiatives on the continent.

Lily Cole

Lily Cole was seen at Saturday's main climate change march in Glasgow

Supermodel, actor and activist Lily Cole was spotted at Glasgow Green on Saturday after about 100,000 people marched in the biggest protest of the climate summit.

She also hosted an event with indigenous communities which Prince Charles attended. Her focus is on helping indigenous people affected by climate change to have a voice.

The star has written a book, Who Cares Wins: How to Protect the Planet You Love and told BBC Women's Hour that she was choosing to be optimistic because the data in the climate change situation is terrifying.

She said: "I think there are so many solutions, policies, technologies, value systems and wisdoms that we can tap into to find a way through and only by focusing on solutions will we actually overcome the obstacles we need to"

The Beast

He might not have the same star power of Obama or DiCaprio, but TV chaser Mark 'the Beast' Labbett arrived in Glasgow to attend a pub quiz during week one of COP26.

The star of The Chase was pictured at Central Station adopting a climate-friendly mode of travel. He was not taking part in COP26 events, but made the day of two British Transport Police officers from Nottingham in Glasgow to help keep the city safe.

COP26 climate summit - The basics

• Climate change is one of the world's most pressing problems. Governments must promise more ambitious cuts in warming gases if we are to prevent greater global temperature rises.

• The summit in Glasgow is where change could happen. You need to watch for the promises made by the world's biggest polluters, like the US and China, and whether poorer countries are getting the support they need.

• All our lives will change. Decisions made here could impact our jobs, how we heat our homes, what we eat and how we travel.

Read more about the COP26 summit here.