14 Aug 2024
By Richard Muir, Deputy Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
There is no doubt that Glasgow is undergoing yet another regeneration at the moment. The impact of the pandemic, skills’ issues, wider economic trends within the retail sector and the pressures on the hospitality sector have combined to make trading conditions challenging in our city centre.
Glasgow is certainly not alone in facing these challenges but as one of Scotland’s most important economic areas, it is under the microscope more than most. Reports at the beginning of July confirmed that there were 400,000 fewer people in the city in May compared to the same month last year - a stark reminder of the work that needs to be done.
The Golden Z report published last year details the many obstacles the city faces. At Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, we have been heavily focused on the action required to reverse some of these trends and whilst it is early in the process, we are beginning to see some green shoots of success.
Nonetheless, while acknowledging the significant work that remains to be done, it’s important that we celebrate the positives. One of the most vibrant aspects of Glasgow is our lively music and events calendar, especially the outdoor summer scene.
Over July, we saw Hampden Park awash with music fans enjoying some of the world’s biggest acts, including Pink’s two sell-out concerts, bringing in over 100,000 fans to the city. The Foo Fighters did the same, attracting another 50,000 music fans to the city.
In addition, the Glasgow Mela had over 40,000 festival goers who were treated to spectacular performances by incredible local, national, and international acts at Kelvingrove Park, further boosting the local economy over the course of the weekend.
Of course, TRNSMT has been one of our outstanding recurring success stories in recent years. Expertly run, it has cemented its place as a truly international world-class event that draws in some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Liam Gallagher, Gerry Cinnamon and Calvin Harris as well as local bands like Majestic Palm and Bottle Rockers. Again, we saw huge crowds of 50,000 each day on Glasgow Green.
I understand that Geoff Ellis at DF Concerts, which manages TRNSMT, was justifiably critical of certain aspects of the transport infrastructure this year, particularly the lack of late-night trains to get fans home after the gigs. This is not good enough and we must be more joined-up and properly support our events sector so that visitors can get to the venue, around the city and home again safely and comfortably at the right times. We need to ensure that our visitors become ambassadors for Glasgow, and we simply cannot do that if we fail to provide reliable transport services in an international city.
These music events complement the regular programmes at various venues, museums and art spaces throughout the year. Through Glasgow Life, we have developed a thoughtfully crafted annual strategic events plan. In addition to the major events, we have at our Scottish Event Campus, which this summer has hosted the wonderful ‘Beyond Van Gogh’ immersive experience, we also host a raft of other summer events. These include the Summer Nights at the Kelvingrove Bandstand, the annual and long running Glasgow Jazz Festival in June and numerous other crowd pleasers like Piping Live and the World Pipe Band Championships. We cannot forget this month’s sensational Glasgow Weekender at SWG3 which was headlined by our own Belle & Sebastian to huge acclaim.
Events like these bring investment, jobs and skills to the city. The cultural pull of Glasgow can be seen in the number of Scotland’s creatives who call the city home: 41% of its actors, dancers and broadcasters live in Glasgow, while 38% of the country’s musicians and 29% of its artists and graphic designers also call the city home. Glasgow was also recently ranked the seventh-best city in Europe for a new creative career by Adobe Express, with many graduates choosing to remain in the city after finishing their studies.
Glasgow is a fantastic city for cultural events, attracting visitors from around the world to experience all we have to offer. So, raise a toast to our vibrant and dynamic cultural sector and to the hundreds of thousands of people who have enjoyed all our city has to offer this summer.
