In 2020, it had an estimated population as a defined locality of 632,350. More than 1,000,000 people live in theGreater Glasgow contiguous urban area, while the widerGlasgow City Region is home to more than 1,800,000 people (its definedfunctional urban area total was almost the same in 2020),[12] around a third of Scotland's population.[13] The city has a population density of 3,562 people per km2, much higher than the average of 70/km2 for Scotland as a whole.[14] Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement close toGlasgow Cathedral and descending to theRiver Clyde to become the largest seaport in Scotland, and the tenth-largest by tonnage in Britain. Expanding from themedievalbishopric and episcopalburgh (subsequentlyroyal burgh), and the later establishment of theUniversity of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a major centre of theScottish Enlightenment in the 18th century.
Glasgow became acounty in 1893, the city having previously been in thehistoric county ofLanarkshire, and later growing to also include settlements that were once part ofRenfrewshire andDunbartonshire. It now forms the Glasgow City Council area, one of the 32council areas of Scotland, and is administered byGlasgow City Council. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Glasgow's population grew rapidly, reaching a peak of 1,127,825 people in 1938 (with a higher density and within a smaller territory than in subsequent decades).[15] The population was greatly reduced following comprehensiveurban renewal projects in the 1960s which resulted in large-scale relocation of people to designatednew towns, such asCumbernauld,Livingston,East Kilbride and peripheral suburbs, followed by successive boundary changes.[16][17]
The name Glasgow isBrittonic in origin. The first elementglas, meaning "grey-green, grey-blue" both inBrittonic,Scottish Gaelic and modern dayWelsh and the second*cöü, "hollow" (cf.Welshglas-cau),[19] giving a meaning of "green-hollow".[20] It is often said that the name means "dear green place" or that "dear green place" is a translation from GaelicGlas Caomh.[21] "The dear green place" remains an affectionate way of referring to the city. The modern Gaelic isGlaschu and derived from the same roots as the Brittonic.
The settlement may have an earlier Brittonic name,Cathures; the modern name appears for the first time in the Gaelic period (1116), asGlasgu.[citation needed] It is also recorded that theKing of Strathclyde,Rhydderch Hael, welcomed Saint Kentigern (also known asSaint Mungo), and procured his consecration as bishop about 540. For some thirteen years Kentigern laboured in the region, building his church at theMolendinar Burn whereGlasgow Cathedral now stands, and making many converts. A large community developed around him and became known asGlasgu. Thecoat of arms of the City of Glasgow was granted to theroyal burgh by theLord Lyon on 25 October 1866.[22] It incorporates a number of symbols and emblems associated with the life of Glasgow's patron saint, Mungo, which had been used on official seals prior to that date. The emblems represent miracles supposed to have been performed by Mungo[23] and are listed in the traditional rhyme:
Here's the bird that never flew
Here's the tree that never grew
Here's the bell that never rang
Here's the fish that never swam
St Mungo is also said to have preached a sermon containing the wordsLord, Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word and the praising of thy name. This was abbreviated to "Let Glasgow Flourish" and adopted as the city's motto. In 1450, John Stewart, the firstLord Provost of Glasgow, left an endowment so that a "St Mungo's Bell" could be made and tolled throughout the city so that the citizens would pray for his soul. A new bell was purchased by the magistrates in 1641 and that bell is still on display in thePeople's Palace Museum, nearGlasgow Green. The supporters are two salmon bearing rings, and the crest is a half-length figure of Saint Mungo. He wears a bishop's mitre and liturgical vestments and has his hand raised in "the act ofbenediction". The original 1866 grant placed the crest atop a helm, but this was removed in subsequent grants. The current version (1996) has a goldmural crown between the shield and the crest. This form of coronet, resembling an embattled city wall, was allowed to the four area councils with city status.
The arms were re-matriculated by the City ofGlasgow District Council on 6 February 1975, and by the present area council on 25 March 1996. The only change made on each occasion was in the type of coronet over the arms.[24][25]
Glasgow itself was reputed to have been founded by the ChristianmissionarySaint Mungo in the 6th century. He established a church on theMolendinar Burn, where the presentGlasgow Cathedral stands, and in the following years Glasgow became a religious centre.Glasgow grew over the following centuries as part of theKingdom of Strathclyde and theKingdom of Scotland. TheGlasgow Fair reportedly began in 1190.[26] A bridge over the River Clyde was recorded from around 1285, whereVictoria Bridge now stands. As thelowest bridging point on the Clyde it was an important crossing. The area around the bridge became known as Briggait. The founding of theUniversity of Glasgow adjoining the cathedral in 1451 and elevation of thebishopric to become theArchdiocese of Glasgow in 1492 increased the town's religious and educational status and landed wealth. Its early trade was in agriculture, brewing and fishing, with cured salmon and herring being exported to Europe and the Mediterranean.[27] By the fifteenth century the urban area stretched from the area around the cathedral and university in the north down to the bridge and the banks of the Clyde in the south alongHigh Street,Saltmarket and Bridgegate, crossing an east–west route atGlasgow Cross which became the commercial centre of the city.[28]
Following the European ProtestantReformation and with the encouragement of theConvention of Royal Burghs, the 14 incorporated trade crafts federated as the Trades House in 1605 to match the power and influence in the town council of the earlier Merchants' Guilds who established their Merchants House in the same year.[27] Glasgow was subsequently raised to the status ofRoyal Burgh in 1611.[29]Daniel Defoe visited the city in the early 18th century and famously opined in his bookA tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, that Glasgow was "the cleanest and beautifullest, and best built city in Britain, London excepted". At that time the city's population was about 12,000, and the city was yet to undergo the massive expansionary changes to its economy and urban fabric, brought about by theScottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution.
The city prospered from its involvement in thetriangular trade and theAtlantic slave trade that the former depended upon. Glasgow merchants dealt in slave-producedcash crops such as sugar, tobacco, cotton and linen.[30][31] From 1717 to 1766, Scottishslave ships operating out of Glasgow transported approximately 3,000 enslaved Africans to the Americas (out of a total number of 5,000 slaves carried by ships from Scotland). The majority of these slaving voyages left from Glasgow's satellite ports,Greenock andPort Glasgow.[32]
Shipping on the Clyde,Atkinson Grimshaw, 1881. Shipbuilding became a symbol of Glasgow's economic importance
After theActs of Union in 1707, Scotland gained further access to the vast markets of the new British Empire, and Glasgow became prominent as a hub of international trade to and from the Americas, especially in sugar, tobacco, cotton, and manufactured goods. Starting in 1668, the city'sTobacco Lords created a deep water port atPort Glasgow about 20 mi (32 km) down theRiver Clyde, as the river from the city to that point was then too shallow for seagoing merchant ships.[33] By the late 18th century more than half of the British tobacco trade was concentrated on the River Clyde, with more than 47,000,000 lb (21,000 t) of tobacco being imported each year at its peak.[34] At the time, Glasgow held a commercial importance as the city participated in the trade of sugar, tobacco and later cotton.[35] From the mid-eighteenth century the city began expanding westwards from its medieval core at Glasgow Cross, with agrid-iron street plan starting from the 1770s and eventually reaching George Square to accommodate much of the growth, with that expansion much later becoming known in the 1980s onwards as theMerchant City.[36] The largest growth in the city centre area, building on the wealth of trading internationally, was the next expansion being the grid-iron streets west of Buchanan Street riding up and overBlythswood Hill from 1800 onwards.[37]
Glasgow in 1864 during the height of its population surge
With the population growing, the first scheme to provide a public water supply was by the Glasgow Company in 1806. A second company was formed in 1812, and the two merged in 1838, but there was some dissatisfaction with the quality of the water supplied.[38] The Gorbals Gravitation Water Company began supplying water to residents living to the south of the River Clyde in 1846, obtained from reservoirs, which gave 75,000 people a constant water supply,[38] but others were not so fortunate, and some 4,000 died in an outbreak ofcholera in 1848/1849.[39] This led to the development of theGlasgow Corporation Water Works, with a project to raise the level ofLoch Katrine and to convey clean water by gravity along a 26-mile (42-kilometre) aqueduct to a holding reservoir at Milngavie, and then by pipes into the city.[40] The project cost £980,000[39] and was opened byQueen Victoria in 1859.[41]In the early 19th century an eighth of the people lived in single-room accommodation.[42]
The engineer for the project wasJohn Frederick Bateman, while James Morris Gale became the resident engineer for the city section of the project, and subsequently became Engineer in Chief for Glasgow Water Commissioners. He oversaw several improvements during his tenure, including a second aqueduct and further raising of water levels in Loch Katrine.[43] Additional supplies were provided by Loch Arklet in 1902, by impounding the water and creating a tunnel to allow water to flow into Loch Katrine. A similar scheme to create a reservoir inGlen Finglas was authorised in 1903, but was deferred, and was not completed until 1965.[39] Following the2002 Glasgow floods, the waterborne parasitecryptosporidium was found in the reservoir at Milngavie, and so the newMilngavie water treatment works was built. It was opened byQueen Elizabeth in 2007, and won the 2007 Utility Industry Achievement Award, having been completed ahead of its time schedule and for £10 million below its budgeted cost.[44]
Good health requires both clean water and effective removal of sewage. TheCaledonian Railway rebuilt many of the sewers, as part of a deal to allow them to tunnel under the city, and sewage treatment works were opened at Dalmarnoch in 1894, Dalmuir in 1904 and Shieldhall in 1910. The works experimented to find better ways to treat sewage, and a number of experimental filters were constructed, until a full activated sludge plant was built between 1962 and 1968 at a cost of £4 million.[45] Treated sludge was dumped at sea, and Glasgow Corporation owned six sludge ships between 1904 and 1998,[46] when the EUUrban Waste Water Treatment Directive ended the practice.[47] The sewerage infrastructure was improved significantly in 2017, with the completion of a tunnel three miles (five kilometres) long, which provides 20 million imperial gallons (90 megalitres) of storm water storage. It will reduce the risk of flooding and the likelihood that sewage will overflow into the Clyde during storms.[48] Since 2002, clean water provision and sewerage have been the responsibility ofScottish Water.[49]
Glasgow's population had surpassed that of Edinburgh by 1821. The development of civic institutions included theCity of Glasgow Police in 1800, one of the first municipalpolice forces in the world. Despite the crisis caused by theCity of Glasgow Bank's collapse in 1878, growth continued and by the end of the 19th century it was one of the cities known as the "Second City of the Empire" and was producing more than half Britain's tonnage of shipping[50] and a quarter of all locomotives in the world.[51] In addition to its pre-eminence in shipbuilding, engineering, industrial machinery, bridge building, chemicals, explosives, coal and oil industries it developed as a major centre in textiles, garment-making, carpet manufacturing, leather processing, furniture-making, pottery, food and drink, cigarette making, printing and publishing. Shipping, banking, insurance and professional services expanded at the same time.[27]
During the First World War, Glasgow raised 28 new battalions of men. By the end of the conflict, approximately 18000 Glaswegian soldiers had been lost.[53] As so many men left their jobs to join up. women were employed in shipyards, munitions factories and other industries and contributed a vital servce to the war effort. In 1917, this was acknowledged publically whenKing Geirge V presented anOBE to a munitions worker,Lizzie Robertson, cheered by many other female muitions workers, during a ceremony held inIbrox Stadium.[54]
The 20th century witnessed both decline and renewal in the city. AfterWorld War I, the city suffered from the impact of thePost–World War I recession and from the laterGreat Depression, this also led to a rise of radical socialism and the "Red Clydeside" movement. The city had recovered by the outbreak ofWorld War II. The city sawaerial bombardment by theLuftwaffe[64] during theClydebank Blitz, during the war, then grew through the post-war boom that lasted through the 1950s. By the 1960s, growth of industry in countries like Japan andWest Germany, weakened the once pre-eminent position of many of the city's industries. As a result of this, Glasgow entered a lengthy period of relative economic decline and rapid de-industrialisation, leading to high unemployment,urban decay, population decline,welfare dependency and poor health for the city's inhabitants. There were active attempts at regeneration of the city, when the Glasgow Corporation published its controversialBruce Report, which set out a comprehensive series of initiatives aimed at turning round the decline of the city. The report led to a huge and radical programme of rebuilding and regeneration efforts that started in the mid-1950s and lasted into the late 1970s. This involved the mass demolition of the city's infamous slums and their replacement with large suburban housing estates and tower blocks.[65][66]
The city invested heavily in roads infrastructure, with an extensive system of arterial roads and motorways that bisected the central area. There are also accusations that theScottish Office had deliberately attempted to undermine Glasgow's economic and politonald MacKintoshical influence in post-war Scotland by diverting inward investment in new industries to other regions during theSilicon Glen boom and creating thenew towns of Cumbernauld, Glenrothes, Irvine, Livingston andEast Kilbride, dispersed across theScottish Lowlands to halve the city's population base.[65] By the late 1980s, there had been a significant resurgence in Glasgow's economic fortunes. The "Glasgow's miles better" campaign, launched in 1983, and opening of theBurrell Collection in 1983 andScottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in 1985 facilitated Glasgow's new role as a European centre for business services and finance and promoted an increase in tourism and inward investment.[67] The latter continues to be bolstered by the legacy of the city'sGlasgow Garden Festival in 1988, its status asEuropean Capital of Culture in 1990,[68] and concerted attempts to diversify the city's economy.[69] However, it is the industrial heritage that serves as key tourism enabler.[70] Wider economic revival has persisted and the ongoingregeneration of inner-city areas, including the large-scaleClyde Waterfront Regeneration, has led to more affluent people moving back to live in the centre of Glasgow, fuelling allegations ofgentrification.[71] In 2008, the city was listed byLonely Planet as one of the world's top 10 tourist cities.[72]
In 2008 the city was ranked at 43 for Personal Safety in theMercer index of top 50 safest cities in the world.[75] The Mercer report was specifically looking at Quality of Living, yet by 2011 within Glasgow, certain areas were (still) "failing to meet the Scottish Air Quality Objective levels for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10)".[76]
Industrial action at the shipyards gave rise to the "Red Clydeside" epithet. During the 1930s, Glasgow was the main base of theIndependent Labour Party. Towards the end of the twentieth century, it became a centre of the struggle against thepoll tax; which was introduced in Scotland a whole year before the rest of the United Kingdom and also served as the main base of theScottish Socialist Party, another left-wing political party in Scotland. The city has not had aConservative MP since the1982 Hillhead by-election, when theSDP took the seat, which was in Glasgow's most affluent area. The fortunes of the Conservative Party continued to decline into the twenty-first century, winning only one of the 79 councillors on Glasgow City Council in2012, despite having been the controlling party (as theProgressives) from 1969 to 1972 when Sir Donald Liddle was the last non-LabourLord Provost.[82]
The first past the post seats were created in 1999 with the names and boundaries of then existingWestminster (House of Commons) constituencies. In 2005, the number of WestminsterMembers of Parliament (MPs) representing Scotland was cut to 59, with new constituencies being formed, while the existing number ofMSPs was retained at Holyrood.
Debating chamber within the City Chambers
In the2011 Scottish Parliament election, the boundaries of the Glasgow region were redrawn.[85] In theScottish independence referendum, Glasgow voted "Yes" by a margin of53.5% to 46.5%.[86] In theBrexit referendum, results varied from constituency to constituency. Glasgow North recorded the biggest remain vote with 78% opting to stay in the EU whilst in Glasgow East this figure dropped to 56%.[87] The city as a whole voted to remain in the EU, by 66.6% to 33.3%.[88] Following the2014 Scottish independence referendum, in which 53.49% of the electorate of Glasgow voted in favour of Scottish independence; theSNP won every seat in the city at the2015 general election, including a record-breaking 39.3% swing from Labour to SNP in theGlasgow North East constituency.[89] At the2017 snap general election, Glasgow was represented by 6 Scottish National Party MPs and 1 Labour MP; the Glasgow North East constituency which had a record 39.3% swing from Labour to SNP at the previous general election, was regained byPaul Sweeney of theScottish Labour Party, who narrowly defeated sitting SNP MPAnne McLaughlin by 242 votes.[90][91]
Glasgow is located on the banks of the River Clyde, inWest Central Scotland. Another important river is theKelvin, a tributary of the River Clyde, whose name was used in creating the title ofBaron Kelvin the renowned physicist for whom theSI unit of temperature, Kelvin, is named. Theburgh of Glasgow was historically inLanarkshire, but close to the border withRenfrewshire. When elected county councils were established in 1890, Glasgow was deemed capable of running its own affairs and so was excluded from the administrative area of Lanarkshire County Council, whilst remaining part of Lanarkshire forlieutenancy and judicial purposes.[93][94]
The burgh was substantially enlarged in 1891 to take in areas from both Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire where the urban area had grown beyond the old burgh boundary.[95] In 1893, the burgh became its own county for lieutenancy and judicial purposes too, being made acounty of itself.[96] From 1975 to 1996 the city was part ofStrathclyde Region, with the city's council becoming a lower-tierdistrict council. Strathclyde was abolished in 1996, since when the city has again been responsible for all aspects of local government, being one of the 32council areas in Scotland.[97]
Like much of lowland Britain, Glasgow's climate isoceanic (KöppenCfb). Although Glasgow's latitude is similar to that ofMoscow, the climate is strongly influenced by proximity to theCeltic Sea and the warm water of theNorth Atlantic Drift. Glasgow is the rainiest city in the UK, with an average of more than 170 days of rain a year.[98][99] The coldest month on record since the data series began is December 2010, during a severecold wave affecting the British Isles. Even then, the December high was above freezing at 1.6 °C (34.9 °F) with a low of −4.4 °C (24.1 °F).[100] This still ensured Glasgow's coldest month of 2010 remained milder than the isotherm of −3 °C (27 °F) normally used to determine continental climate normals. The warmest day in Glasgow was recorded in 2018, when temperatures reached 31.9 °C (89.4 °F).[101]
In the 1950s, the population of the City of Glasgow area peaked at 1,089,000. Glasgow was then one of the most densely populated cities in the world. After the 1960s, clearances of poverty-stricken inner city areas like theGorbals and relocation to "new towns" such asEast Kilbride andCumbernauld led to population decline. In addition, the boundaries of the city were changed twice during the late-twentieth century, making direct comparisons difficult.
The urban area continues to expand beyond the city council boundaries into surrounding suburban areas, encompassing around 400 sq mi (1,040 km2) of all adjoining suburbs, ifcommuter towns and villages are included.[105] There are two distinct definitions for the population of Glasgow: theGlasgow City Council Area which lost the districts ofRutherglen andCambuslang toSouth Lanarkshire in 1996, and theGreater Glasgow Urban Area which includes the conurbation around the city (however in the 2016 definitions[106] the aforementioned Rutherglen and Cambuslang were included along with the likes ofPaisley,Clydebank,Newton Mearns,Bearsden andStepps but not others with no continuity of populated postcodes – although in some cases the gap is small – the excluded nearby settlements includingBarrhead,Erskine andKirkintilloch plus a large swathe of Lanarkshire which had been considered contiguous with Glasgow in previous definitions: the 'settlements' named Coatbridge & Airdrie, Hamilton and Motherwell & Wishaw, each containing a number of distinct smaller localities).[13]
Glasgow's population influx in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was related to economic expansion as well as internally generated growth with the vast majority of newcomers to the city from outside Scotland being fromIreland, especially the north western counties ofDonegal,Fermanagh,Tyrone andLondonderry. In the 1881 UK Census, 83% of the population was born in Scotland, 13% in Ireland, 3% in England and 1% elsewhere. By 1911, the city was no longer gaining population by migration. The demographic percentages in the 1951 UK census were: born in Scotland 93%, Ireland 3%, England 3% and elsewhere 1%.[27] In the early twentieth century, manyLithuanian refugees began to settle in Glasgow and at its height in the 1950s; there were around 10,000 in the Glasgow area.[109] ManyItalian Scots also settled in Glasgow, originating from provinces likeFrosinone inLazio andLucca in north-westTuscany at this time, many originally working as "Hokey Pokey" men.[110]
Anderson to James Street/West Nile Street to Camlachie
1831
202,426
8.83
22,924
Necropolis and Blythswood
1846
280,000
23.44
11,945
Burghs of Anderston and Calton/Barony of Gorbals
1872
494,824
24.42
20,263
Districts of Keppochhill, Alexandra Parade and the new Glasgow University grounds
1891
658,073
48.00
13,709
Burghs of Govanhill, Crosshill, Pollokshields, Maryhill and Hillhead. Districts of Mount Florida, Langside, Shawlands, Kelvinside, Possilpark, Springburn, Coplawhill and the rest of Gorbals
1901
761,712
51.35
14,833
Bellahouston Park and Craigton. Districts of Blackhill, Shawfield and the east end of Glasgow Green
1912
800,000
77.63
10,305
Burghs of Govan, Partick, Pollokshaws. Districts of Shettleston, Tollcross, West of Govan, Cathcart, Newlands, West of Partick, Dawsholm, Temple and Knightswood.
1921
1,034,174
77.63
13,321
No change
1926
1,090,380
119.42
9,130
Districts of Lambhill, Millerston, Aikenhead, Mansewood, Kennishead, Carntyne, Cardonald, Robroyston, Nitshill, Hurlet, Crookston, Cardonald, Scotstoun, Yoker and Knightswood.
1938
1,127,825
160.77
7,015
Districts of Balmuildy, Auchinairn, Cardowan, Gartloch, Queenslie, Linn Park, Jenny Lind, Easterhouse, Darnley, Penilee, Drumry, Drumchapel, Summerston, Hogganfield and Carntyne
1946
1,050,000
160.77
6,531
No change
1951
1,089,555
160.77
6,777
No change
1961
1,055,017
160.77
6,562
No change
1971
897,485
160.77
5,582
No change
1981
774,068
202.35
3,825
Burghs of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, Mount Vernon, Baillieston.
1991
688,600
202.67
3,397
Minor boundary change
2001
586,710
177.30
3,309
Rutherglen and Cambuslang transferred to South Lanarkshire.
The 2022 Scottish Census reported that out of 603,199 residents aged three and over, 170,403 (28.2%) considered themselves able to speak or read theScots language.[113]
In the 1960s and 1970s, manyAsians also settled in Glasgow, mainly in thePollokshields area. These number 30,000Pakistanis, 15,000Indians and 3,000Bangladeshis as well asChinese people, many of whom settled in theGarnethill area of the city.[121] The city is also home to some 8,406 (1.42%)Poles.[122] Since 2000, the UK government has pursued a policy of dispersal ofasylum seekers to ease pressure on social housing in theLondon area. In 2023, 88% of the near 5,100 asylum seekers in the whole of Scotland were living in Glasgow.[123][124]
Since theUnited Kingdom Census 2001 the population decline has been reversed. The population was static for a time; but due to migration from other parts of Scotland as well as immigration from overseas, the population has begun to grow. The population of the city council area was 593,245 in 2011[125] and around 2,300,000 people live in the Glasgowtravel to work area.[126] This area is defined as consisting of more than 10% of residents travelling into Glasgow to work and is without fixed boundaries.[127]
The population density of London following the 2011 census was recorded as 5,200 people per square kilometre, while 3,395 people per square kilometre were registered in Glasgow.[128][129] In 1931, the population density was 16,166/sq mi (6,242/km2), highlighting the "clearances" into the suburbs and new towns that were built to reduce the size of one of Europe's most densely populated cities.[130]
Glasgow is a city of significant religious diversity. As per the 2022 census, the largest group with 43% has no religion followed by theRoman Catholic Church which represents nearly 21% of the population.
The following table shows the religion of respondents in the 2001, 2011 and 2022 censuses in Glasgow.
TheSikh community is served by fourGurdwaras. Two are situated in the West End (Central Gurdwara Singh Sabha inSandyford andGuru Nanak Sikh Temple inKelvinbridge) and two in the Southside area ofPollokshields (Guru Granth Sahib Gurdwara andSri Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara). In 2013, Scotland's first purpose-built Gurdwara opened in a massive opening ceremony. Built at a cost of £3.8M, it can hold 1,500 worshippers.[143] Central Gurdwara is currently constructing a new building in the city. There are almost 10,000 Sikhs in Scotland and the majority live in Glasgow.[144]
Glasgow Central Mosque in the Gorbals district is the largest mosque in Scotland and, along with twelve other mosques in the city, caters for the city's Muslim population, estimated to number 33,000.[145] Glasgow also has a Hindumandir.
Glasgow has seven synagogues, including the Romanesque-revivalGarnethill Synagogue in the city centre. Glasgow currently has the seventh largest Jewish population in the United Kingdom afterLondon,Manchester,Leeds,Gateshead,Brighton andBournemouth but once had a Jewish population second only to London, estimated at 20,000 in the Gorbals alone.[146]
Most offices, and the largest offices and international headquarters, are in the distinctive streets immediately west of Buchanan Street, starting around 1800 as townhouses, in the architecturally important streets embracingBlythswood Hill, Blythswood Holm further down and now including theBroomielaw next to the Clyde. To the south and west are the shopping precincts ofArgyle Street,Sauchiehall Street andBuchanan Street, the last featuring more upmarket retailers and winner of the Academy of Urbanism "Great Street Award" 2008.[149] The collection of shops around these streets accumulate to become known as "The Style Mile".[150]
The main shopping areas includeBuchanan Street, Buchanan Galleries, linking Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street, and theSt. Enoch Centre linking Argyle Street andSt Enoch Square, with the up-marketPrinces Square, which specifically features shops such asTed Baker, Radley and Kurt Geiger.[151] Buchanan Galleries and other city centre locales were chosen as locations for the 2013 filmUnder the Skin directed byJonathan Glazer.[152] Although the Glasgow scenes were shot with hidden cameras, starScarlett Johansson was spotted around town.[153] The Italian Centre in Ingram Street also specialises in designer labels. Glasgow's retail portfolio forms the UK's second largest and most economically important retail sector after Central London.[154][155]
The Merchant City is the commercial and part-residential district of theMerchant City, a name coined by the historian Charles Oakley in the 1960s. This had started as a residential district of the wealthy city merchants involved in international trade and the textile industries in the 18th and early 19th centuries, with their warehouses nearby, including theTobacco Lords from whom many of the streets take their name. With its mercantile wealth, and continuing growth even before theIndustrial Revolution, the city expanded by creating the New Town aroundGeorge Square, soon followed by the New Town of Blythswood onBlythswood Hill which includesBlythswood Square.[156] The original medieval centre around Glasgow Cross and the High Street was left behind.
Glasgow Cross, situated at the junction ofHigh Street, leading up toGlasgow Cathedral, Gallowgate,Trongate and Saltmarket was the original centre of the city, symbolised by itsMercat cross. Glasgow Cross encompasses the Tolbooth Steeple, all that remains of the originalGlasgow Tolbooth, which was demolished in 1921. Moving northward up High Street towardsRottenrow andTownhead lies the 15th centuryGlasgow Cathedral and theProvand's Lordship. Due to growing industrial pollution levels in the mid-to-late 19th century, the area fell out of favour with residents.[157]
From the 1980s onwards, the Merchant City has been rejuvenated withluxury city centre flats andwarehouse conversions. This regeneration has supported an increasing number of cafés and restaurants.[158] The area is also home to a number of high end boutique style shops and some of Glasgow's most upmarket stores.[159]
The Merchant City is one centre of Glasgow's growing "cultural quarter", based on King Street, the Saltmarket andTrongate, and at the heart of the annualMerchant City Festival. The area has supported a growth in art galleries, the origins of which can be found in the late 1980s when it attracted artist-led organisations that could afford the cheap rents required to operate in vacant manufacturing or retail spaces.[160] The artistic and cultural potential of the Merchant City as a "cultural quarter" was harnessed by independent arts organisations andGlasgow City Council,[160] and the recent development of Trongate 103, which houses galleries, workshops, artist studios and production spaces, is considered a major outcome of the continued partnership between both.[161] The area also contains a number of theatres and concert venues, including theTron Theatre, the Old Fruitmarket, the Trades Hall, St. Andrew's in the Square, Merchant Square, and theCity Halls.[162]
The spire ofSir George Gilbert Scott'sGlasgow University main building (the second largestGothic Revival building in Great Britain) is a major landmark, and can be seen from miles around, sitting atop Gilmorehill. The university itself is the fourth oldest in theEnglish-speaking world. Much of the city's student population is based in the West End, adding to its cultural vibrancy. The area is also home to theKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum,Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery,Kelvin Hall museums and research facilities, stores, and community sport. Adjacent to the Kelvin Hall was theMuseum of Transport, which reopened in 2010 after moving to a new location on a former dockland site atGlasgow Harbour where the River Kelvin flows into the Clyde. The new building is built to a design byZaha Hadid. TheWest End Festival, one of Glasgow's largest festivals, is held annually in June.
Glasgow is the home of theSEC Centre, Great Britain's largest exhibition and conference centre.[163][164][165] On 30 September 2013, a major expansion of the SECC facilities at the former Queen's Dock byFoster and Partners officially opened – the 13,000-seatHydro arena. Adjacent to the SECC at Queen's Dock is theClydeside Distillery, aScotch whiskydistillery that opened in 2017 in the former dock pump house.[166]
TheGlasgow Necropolis Garden Cemetery was created by the Merchants House on a hill above thecathedral in 1831. Routes curve through the landscape uphill to the 21.3-metre-high (70 ft)[168] statue ofJohn Knox at the summit. There are two late 18th century tenements in Gallowgate. Dating from 1771 and 1780, both have been well restored. The construction of Charlotte Street was financed byDavid Dale, whose former scale can be gauged by the one remaining house, now run by theNational Trust for Scotland. Further along Charlotte Street there stands a modernGillespie, Kidd & Coia building of some note. Once a school, it has been converted into offices. Surrounding these buildings are a series of innovative housing developments conceived as "Homes for the Future", part of a project during the city's year as UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999.[169]
The Doulton Fountain in Glasgow Green
East of Glasgow Cross isSt Andrew's in the Square, the oldest post-Reformation church in Scotland, built in 1739–1757 and displaying a Presbyterian grandeur befitting the church of the city's wealthytobacco merchants. Also close by is the more modestEpiscopalianSt Andrew's-by-the-Green, the oldest Episcopal church in Scotland. The Episcopalian St Andrew's was also known as the "Whistlin' Kirk" due to it being the first church after the Reformation to own an organ. Overlooking Glasgow Green is the façade ofTempleton On The Green, featuring vibrantpolychromatic brickwork intended to evoke theDoge's Palace inVenice.[170] The extensiveTollcross Park was originally developed from the estate of James Dunlop, the owner of a local steelworks. His largebaronial mansion was built in 1848 byDavid Bryce, which later housed the city's Children's Museum until the 1980s. Today, the mansion is a sheltered housing complex. The newScottish National Indoor Sports Arena, a modern replacement for theKelvin Hall, is inDalmarnock. The area was the site of theAthletes' Village for the2014 Commonwealth Games, located adjacent to the new indoor sports arena.
The East End Healthy Living Centre (EEHLC) was established in mid-2005 at Crownpoint Road with Lottery Funding and City grants to serve community needs in the area. Now called the Glasgow Club Crownpoint Sports Complex, the centre provides service such as sports facilities, health advice, stress management, leisure and vocational classes.[171] To the north of the East End lie the two largegasometers ofProvan Gas Works, which stand overlookingAlexandra Park and a major interchange between the M8 andM80 motorways.[172][173][174]
Pacific Quay sits within the south side of Glasgow, and is home to some of the city's largest businesses and employers.
Glasgow's South Side sprawls out south of the Clyde. The adjoining urban area includes some of Greater Glasgow's most affluent suburban towns, such asNewton Mearns,Clarkston, andGiffnock, all of which are inEast Renfrewshire, as well asThorntonhall inSouth Lanarkshire.Newlands andDumbreck are examples of high-value residential districts within the city boundaries. There are many areas containing a high concentration of sandstone tenements likeShawlands, which is considered the "Heart of the Southside", with other examples beingBattlefield,Govanhill andMount Florida.[175] The large suburb ofPollokshields comprises both a quiet western part with undulating tree-lined boulevards lined with expensive villas, and a busier eastern part with a high-density grid of tenements and small shops. The south side also includes some post-war housing estates of various sizes such asToryglen,Pollok,Castlemilk andArden. The towns ofCambuslang andRutherglen were included in the City of Glasgow district from 1975 to 1996, but are now in theSouth Lanarkshire council area.[176][177][178]
The regeneration of Glasgow Harbour has seen the construction of many high rise buildings
The South Side also includes many public parks, includingLinn Park,Queen's Park, andBellahouston Park and several golf clubs, including the championship course atHaggs Castle. The South Side is also home to the largePollok Country Park, which was awarded the accolade of Europe's Best Park 2008.[179] The southside also directly bordersRouken Glen Park in neighbouringGiffnock. Pollok Park is Glasgow's largest park and until the early 2000s was the only country park in the city's boundary. In the early 2000s theDams to Darnley Country Park was designated, although half of the park is inEast Renfrewshire. As of 2021 the facilities at the still new park are quite lacking.
Govan is a district and former burgh in the south-western part of the city. It is situated on the south bank of the River Clyde, oppositePartick. It was an administratively independent Police Burgh from 1864 until it was incorporated into the expanding city of Glasgow in 1912. Govan has a legacy as an engineering andshipbuilding centre of international repute and is home to one of twoBAE Systems Surface Ships shipyards on the River Clyde and theprecision engineering firm,Thales Optronics. It is also home to theQueen Elizabeth University Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the country, and the maintenance depot for theGlasgow Subway system. The wider Govan area includes the districts ofIbrox,Cessnock,Kinning Park andKingston.
This has led to large-scale redevelopment of much of the poorer housing stock in north Glasgow, and the wider regeneration of many areas, such asRuchill, which have been transformed; many run-down tenements have now been refurbished or replaced by modernhousing estates. Much of the housing stock in north Glasgow is rentedsocial housing, with a high proportion of high-rise tower blocks, managed by the North Glasgow Housing Association trading as NG Homes andGlasgow Housing Association.
Maryhill consists of well maintained traditional sandstone tenements. Although historically a working class area, its borders with the upmarket West End of the city mean that it is relatively wealthy compared to the rest of the north of the city, containing affluent areas such asMaryhill Park andNorth Kelvinside. Maryhill is also the location ofFirhill Stadium, home ofPartick Thistle F.C. since 1909. Thejunior team,Maryhill F.C. are also located in this part of north Glasgow.
TheForth and Clyde Canal passes through this part of the city, and at one stage formed a vital part of the local economy. It was for many years polluted and largely unused after the decline of heavy industry, but recent efforts to regenerate and re-open the canal to navigation have seen it rejuvenated, including art campuses at Port Dundas.
Sighthill was home to Scotland's largestasylum seeker community but the area is now regenerated as part of the Youth Olympic Games bid.[180]
A huge part of the economic life of Glasgow was once located inSpringburn, where theSaracen Foundry, engineering works of firms likeCharles Tennant and locomotive workshops employed many Glaswegians. Glasgow dominated this type of manufacturing, with 25% of all the world's locomotives being built in the area at one stage. It was home to the headquarters of theNorth British Locomotive Company. Today part of theGlasgow Works continues in use as a railway maintenance facility, all that is left of the industry in Springburn. It is proposed for closure in 2019.[181]Riddrie in the north east was intensively developed in the 1920s and retains several listed developments in the Art Deco style.
Established by wealthy tobacco merchant Stephen Mitchell, theMitchell Library is now one of the largest public reference libraries in Europe.
The city has many amenities for a wide range of cultural activities, fromcurling to opera and ballet and fromfootball to art appreciation; it also has a large selection of museums that include those devoted to transport, religion, andmodern art. Many of the city's cultural sites were celebrated in 1990 when Glasgow was designatedEuropean Capital of Culture.[182]
The city's principal municipal library, theMitchell Library, has grown into one of the largest public referencelibraries in Europe, currently housing some 1.3 million books, an extensive collection of newspapers and thousands of photographs andmaps.[183]Of academic libraries,Glasgow University Library started in the 15th century and is one of the oldest and largest libraries in Europe, with unique and distinctive collections of international status.[184]
Glasgow has its own "Poet Laureate", a post created in 1999 forEdwin Morgan[185] and occupied byLiz Lochhead from 2005[186] until 2011, when she stood down to take up the position ofScots Makar.[187] Jim Carruth was appointed to the position of Poet Laureate for Glasgow in 2014 as part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games legacy.[188]
In 2013,PETA declared Glasgow to be the most vegan-friendly city in the UK.[189]
The city has hosted many exhibitions over the years from the 1888 International Exhibition and 1901 International Exhibition to the Empire Exhibition 1938, including more recently The Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988, being the UK City of Architecture 1999,European Capital of Culture 1990, National City of Sport 1995–1999 and European Capital of Sport 2003. Glasgow has also hosted theNational Mòd no less than twelve times since 1895.[190]
TheOVO Hydro arena (right) is the second-busiest arena venue in the world. TheSEC Armadillo is located to its left[191]
The city is home to numerous orchestras, ensembles and bands including those ofScottish Opera,Scottish Ballet,Royal Scottish National Orchestra,BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and related to theRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland, theNational Youth Orchestra of Scotland and the Universities and Colleges. Choirs of all type are well supported.Glasgow has many live music venues, pubs, and clubs. Some of the city's more well-known venues include theGlasgow Royal Concert Hall,The OVO Hydro, theSECC,Glasgow Cathouse, The Art School,King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (whereOasis were spotted and signed by Glaswegian record mogulAlan McGee), theQueen Margaret Union (who haveKurt Cobain's footprint locked in a safe),the Barrowland, a ballroom converted into a live music venue as well asThe Garage, which is the largest nightclub in Scotland. More recent mid-sized venues includeABC, destroyed in the art school fire of 15 June 2018, and theO2 Academy, which play host to a similar range of acts. There are also a large number of smaller venues and bars, which host many local and touring musicians, including Stereo, 13th Note and Nice N Sleazy. Most recent recipient of the SLTN Music Pub of the Year award was Bar Bloc, awarded in November 2011.[192] In 2010, Glasgow was named the UK's fourth "most musical" city byPRS for Music.[193] Glasgow is also the "most mentioned city in the UK" in song titles, outside London according, to a chart produced by PRS for music, with 119, ahead of closest rivals Edinburgh who received 95 mentions.[194]
Glasgow's contemporary dance music scene has been spearheaded bySlam, and their record labelSoma Quality Recordings,[196] with their Pressure club nights attracting DJs and clubbers from around the world; these nights were hosted byThe Arches but moved toSub Club after the closure of the former in 2015, also taking place at the SWG3 arts venue. The Sub Club has regularly been nominated as one of the best clubs in the world.[197][198]
TheMOBO Awards were held at theSECC on 30 September 2009, making Glasgow the first city outside London to host the event since its launch in 1995. On 9 November 2014, Glasgow hosted the2014 MTV Europe Music Awards atThe OVO Hydro, it was the second time Scotland hosted the show since 2003 in Edinburgh and overall the fifth time that the United Kingdom has hosted the show since 2011 inBelfast, Northern Ireland. The event was hosted byNicki Minaj and featured performances fromAriana Grande,Enrique Iglesias,Ed Sheeran,U2 andSlash.
The Scottish press publishes various newspapers in the city such asThe Evening Times,The Herald,The Sunday Herald, theSunday Mail and theDaily Record. Scottish editions ofTrinity Mirror andNews International titles are printed in the city.STV Group is a Glasgow-based media conglomerate with interests in television, and publishing advertising. STV Group owns and operates both Scottish ITV franchises (Central Scotland and Grampian), both brandedSTV. Glasgow also had its own television channel,STV Glasgow, which launched in June 2014, which also shows some of Glasgow's own programs filmed at the STV headquarters in Glasgow. Shows includedThe Riverside Show,Scottish Kitchen,City Safari,Football Show andLive at Five. STV Glasgow merged with STV Edinburgh to form STV2 in April 2017 which eventually closed in June 2018.
Glasgow is Scotland's main locus ofGaelic language use outside theHighlands and Islands. In 2011, 5,878 residents of the city over age 3 spoke Gaelic, amounting to 1.0% of the population. Of Scotland's 25 largest cities and towns, onlyInverness, the unofficial capital of theHighlands, has a higher percentage of Gaelic speakers.[201] In theGreater Glasgow area there were 8,899 Gaelic-speakers, amounting to 0.8% of the population.[202] Both the Gaelic language television stationBBC Alba and the Gaelic language radio stationBBC Radio nan Gàidheal have studios in Glasgow, their only locations outside theHighlands and Islands.[203]
The 2022 Scottish Census reported that out of 603,203 residents aged three and over, 10,989 (1.8%) considered themselves able to speak or readGaelic.[204]
Another architect who has had an enduring impact on the city's appearance isAlexander Thomson, with notable examples including theHolmwood House villa, and likewise SirJohn James Burnet, awarded the R.I.B.A.'s Royal Gold Medal for his lifetime's service to architecture. The buildings reflect the wealth and self-confidence of the residents of the "Second City of the Empire". Glasgow generated immense wealth from trade and the industries that developed from the Industrial Revolution. Theshipyards,marine engineering, steel making, andheavy industry all contributed to the growth of the city.
Many of the city's buildings were built with red or blondsandstone, but during the industrial era those colours disappeared under a pervasive black layer of soot and pollutants from thefurnaces, until theClean Air Act was introduced in 1956. There are more than 1,800 listed buildings in the city, of architectural and historical importance, and 23 Conservation Areas extending over 1,471 hectares (3,630 acres). Such areas include the Central Area, Dennistoun, the West End, Pollokshields – the first major planned garden suburb in Britain – Newlands and the village of Carmunnock.[207]
Glasgow's historical and modern architectural traditions were celebrated in 1999 when the city was designated UK City of Architecture and Design,[210] winning the accolade overLiverpool andEdinburgh.[211]
Glasgow has the largest economy in Scotland[213] and is at the hub of the metropolitan area of West Central Scotland. The city itself sustains more than 410,000 jobs in more than 12,000 companies. More than 153,000 jobs were created in the city between 2000 and 2005 – a growth rate of 32%.[214] Glasgow's annual economic growth rate of 4.4% is now second only to that of London. In 2005, more than 17,000 new jobs were created, and 2006 saw private-sector investment in the city reaching £4.2 billion, an increase of 22% in a single year.[215] 55% of the residents in theGreater Glasgow area commute to the city every day.
In 2023, major industries in the Glasgow City Region contributing to the economy of the city were public administration, education & health, distribution, hotels & restaurants, banking, finance and insurance services and transport and communication.[217]
Glasgow has the most extensiveurban rail network in the UK outside London, with rail services travelling to a large part of theWest of Scotland. Most lines were electrified underBritish Rail. All trains running within Scotland, including the local Glasgow trains, are operated byScotRail, which is owned by theScottish Government.Central station andQueen Street station are the two main railway terminals. Glasgow Central is the terminus of the 642 km (399 mi) longWest Coast Main Line[218] fromLondon Euston, as well asTransPennine Express services from Manchester andCrossCountry services from Birmingham, Bristol, Plymouth and various other destinations in England. Glasgow Central is also the terminus for suburban services on the south side of Glasgow, Ayrshire and Inverclyde, as well as being served by the cross city link from Dalmuir to Motherwell. Most other services within Scotland – the main line to Edinburgh, plus services to Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and the Western Highlands – operate from Queen Street station.
The city's suburban network is almost completely divided by the River Clyde. Over the years there have been proposed initiatives such asCrossrail to better connect the suburban network. The city is linked to Edinburgh byfour direct railway links. In addition to the suburban rail network, SPT operates theGlasgow Subway. The Subway is the United Kingdom's only completely undergroundmetro system and is the world's third oldest underground railway after theLondon Underground and theBudapest Metro.[219] Both railway and subway stations have a number ofpark and ride facilities.
As part of the wider regeneration along the banks of the River Clyde, abus rapid transit system calledClyde Fastlink is operational between Glasgow City Centre to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.[220]
TheM8, which crosses the Clyde over the Kingston Bridge, is Scotland's busiestmotorway.
The main M8 motorway passes around the city centre and connects with theM77,M74,M73 andM80 motorways, all of which pass within the city's boundaries. TheA82 connects Glasgow toArgyll and the westernHighlands. TheM74 runs directly south towardsCarlisle.
Other strategic roads in the city include theEast End Regeneration Route, which provides easier access to areas of the East End, linking the M8 to the extended M74.
Global-ship-management is carried out by maritime and logistics firms in Glasgow, in client companies employing more than 100,000 seafarers. This reflects maritime skills over many decades and the training and education of deck officers and marine engineers from around the world at theCity of Glasgow College, Nautical Campus, from which graduate around one third of all such graduates in the United Kingdom.[222]
The main operational dock within Glasgow operated byClydeport is theKing George V Dock, near Braehead. Since the advent ofcontainerisation, most other facilities, such asHunterston Terminal, are located in the deep waters of theFirth of Clyde, which together handle some 7.5 million tonnes of cargo each year. Longer distant commercial sea shipping from Glasgow occurs regularly to many European destinations, including Mediterranean and Baltic ports via passage through theSea of the Hebrides.[223]
Leisure and tourist sailing is important, at marinas and towns of the Clyde, including thePSWaverley, the world's last operational seagoingpaddle-steamer.[224]
Glasgow Airport is the largest of the two airports that serve Glasgow
There are three international airports within 45 minutes travel of the city centre, as well as a centrally located seaplane terminal. Two airports are dedicated to Glasgow, andEdinburgh Airport, situated on the west side of Edinburgh, is not far from Glasgow. These airports areGlasgow Airport (GLA) (eight mi or thirteen km west of the city centre) in Renfrewshire,Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) (30 mi or 50 km southwest) in South Ayrshire,Edinburgh Airport (EDI), (34 mi or 55 km east) in Edinburgh andGlasgow Seaplane Terminal, by the Glasgow Science Centre on the River Clyde.
There are also several smaller, domestic and private airports around the city. There is a heliport,Glasgow City Heliport, located at Stobcross Quay on the banks of the Clyde.
All of the international airports are easily accessible by public transport, with Glasgow Airport and Edinburgh Airport directly linked by bus routes from the main bus station and a direct rail connection to Glasgow Prestwick Airport from Glasgow Central Station. A series of proposals to provide a direct rail link to Glasgow International Airport have ended unsuccessfully, beginning with theGlasgow Airport Rail Link in 2009.[225] As of 2019, local authorities have approved plans for a "Glasgow Metro", including a connection to the International Airport.[226]
Glasgow is known for itstenements; the red and blondsandstone buildings are some of the most recognisable features of the city.[227] These were the most popular form of housing in 19th- and 20th-century Glasgow, and remain the most common form of dwelling in Glasgow today. Tenements are commonly bought by a wide range of social types and are favoured for their large rooms, high ceilings and original period features.[228] TheHyndland area of Glasgow became the first tenement conservation area in the UK[229] and includes some tenement houses with as many as six bedrooms.
Like many cities in the UK, Glasgow witnessed the construction of high-rise housing intower blocks in the 1960s, along with largeoverspill estates on the periphery of the city, in areas likePollok,Nitshill,Castlemilk,Easterhouse,Milton andDrumchapel.[230] These were built to replace the decaying inner-city tenement buildings originally built for workers who migrated from the surrounding countryside, the Highlands, and the rest of the United Kingdom, particularly Ireland, to feed the local demand for labour.[231] The massive demand at that time outstripped the pace of new building, and many originally fine tenements often became overcrowded and unsanitary.[232] Many degenerated into infamousslums, such as the Gorbals.
20th-century-style houses within the neighbourhood of Hillsborough Road
Efforts to improve this housing situation, most successfully with the City Improvement Trust in the late 19th century, cleared the slums of the old town areas such as theTrongate,High Street andGlasgow Cross.[233] Subsequenturban renewal initiatives, such as those motivated by theBruce Report, entailed the comprehensive demolition of slum tenement areas, the development ofnew towns on the periphery of the city, and the construction of tower blocks.
The policy of tenement demolition is now considered to have been short-sighted, wasteful and largely unsuccessful.[234] Many of Glasgow's worst tenements were refurbished into desirable accommodation in the 1970s and 1980s[234] and the policy of demolition is considered to have destroyed many fine examples of a "universally admired architectural" style.[228] TheGlasgow Housing Association took ownership of the housing stock from the city council on 7 March 2003, and has begun a £96 million clearance and demolition programme to clear and demolish many of the high-rise flats.[235]
TheQueen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) Campus is a 1,677-bed acute hospital located inGovan in the south-west of Glasgow. The hospital is built on the site of the formerSouthern General Hospital and opened at the end of April 2015. The hospital comprises a newly built 1,109-bed adult hospital, a 256-bed children's hospital and two major A&E departments, one for adults and one for children in addition to buildings retained from the former hospital. The QEUH is the Regional Major Trauma Centre for the west of Scotland[236] and is also the largest hospital campus in Europe.[237]
All pharmacies provide a wide range of services including minor ailment advice, emergency hormonal contraception and public health advice; some provide oxygen and needle exchange.
There are private clinics and hospitals at theNuffield in the west end and Ross Hall in the south side of the city.
In 2011 Glasgow had 53,470 full-time students aged 18–74 resident in the city during term time, more than any other city in Scotland and the fifth-highest number in the United Kingdom outside London.[247] The majority of those who live away from home reside inShawlands,Dennistoun and the West End of the city.[248]
The world's first internationalfootball match was held in 1872 at theWest of Scotland Cricket Club'sHamilton Crescent ground in thePartick area of the city. The match, betweenScotland andEngland finished 0–0.[250] Glasgow was the first city (since joined byLiverpool in 1985,Madrid in 1986, 2014, 2016 and 2018,Milan in 1994 andLondon in 2019, 2025) to have had two football teams in European finals in the same season:[251] in 1967,Celtic competed in and won theEuropean Cup final, with rivalsRangers competing in theCup Winners' Cup final. Rangers were the first football club from the United Kingdom to reach a European final, doing so in1961. Celtic were the first non-Latin club to win the European Cup, under the management ofJock Stein in1967, beforeManchester United the following year. Celtic also went on to reach another European Cup Final in1970, losing toFeyenoord, and also the final of theUEFA Cup in2003, where they lost an enthralling match which finished 3–2 to Portuguese clubPorto. Rangers also reached the final of the same competition in2008 and2022, where they lost toZenit Saint Petersburg of Russia,[252] andEintracht Frankfurt of Germany.[253]
Hampden Park, which is Scotland's national football stadium, holds the European record for attendance at a football match: 149,547[254] saw Scotland beat England 3–1 in 1937, in the days before leading British stadia becameall-seated. Hampden Park has hosted the final of theUEFA Champions League on three occasions, most recently in 2002 and hosted theUEFA Cup Final in 2007.Celtic Park (60,411 seats) is located in the east end of Glasgow, andIbrox Stadium (51,700 seats) on the south side.[255]
Glasgow has a professionalrugby union club, theGlasgow Warriors, which plays in theEuropean Rugby Champions Cup andUnited Rugby Championship alongside teams from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Italy and South Africa. The Warriors current home isScotstoun Stadium and has been since 2012, previously they played atFirhill Stadium. They have won theMelrose 7s in both 2014 and 2015 and were also crowned champions of thePro12 (later rebranded as the United Rugby Championship) at the end of the 2014/15 season after beating Irish side Munster in Belfast.[261] Warriors won URC in the 2023/24 season after defeating South African teamBulls in the Grand Final inPretoria.[262]
In the Scottish League,Glasgow Hawks RFC was formed in 1997 by the merger of two of Glasgow's oldest clubs:Glasgow Academicals andGlasgow High Kelvinside (GHK). Despite the merger, the second division teams of Glasgow Academicals and Glasgow High Kelvinside re-entered the Scottish rugby league in 1998.[263] Another of the Glasgow area's most prominent clubsGlasgow Hutchesons Aloysians RFC (GHA) has its roots in the south of the city (nowadays technically they are based just outside the city in the suburb ofGiffnock inEast Renfrewshire). GHA was formed in 2002 with the merger of two of Glasgow's leading clubs at the time,Glasgow Southern RFC andHutchesons Aloysians RFC.[264]
TheArlington Baths Club was founded in 1870. It is situated in theWoodlands area of the city and is still in use today.[270] It is believed the club's first Baths MasterWilliam Wilson inventedwater polo at the club. The Arlington inspired other Swimming Clubs and theWestern Baths, which opened in 1876, is also still in existence in nearbyHillhead.[271]
Glasgow hosts Scotland's only professional basketball team, theCaledonia Gladiators, who compete in theBritish Basketball League. Previously based in Renfrewshire'sBraehead Arena and the 1,200-seat Kelvin Hall, the team has been based at the Emirates Arena since the 2012/13 season.[272] Major international sporting arenas include the Kelvin Hall andScotstoun Sports Centre. In 2003 the National Academy for Badminton was completed in Scotstoun. In 2003, Glasgow was also given the title of European Capital of Sport.[273]
Glasgow is also host to manycricket clubs includingClydesdale Cricket Club who have been title winners for the Scottish Cup many times. This club also acted as a neutral venue for aOne Day International match betweenIndia andPakistan in 2007, but due to bad weather it was called off.[274] Smaller sporting facilities include an abundance of outdoorplaying fields, as well as golf clubs such asHaggs Castle and artificial ski slopes. Between 1998 and 2004, theScottish ClaymoresAmerican football team played some or all of their home games each season at Hampden Park and the venue also hostedWorld Bowl XI.[275] Glasgow Green and theGorbals are home to a number ofrowing clubs, some with open membership the rest belonging to universities or schools. Historically, rowing races on theRiver Clyde here attracted huge crowds of spectators to watch regattas in the late 19th century and early 20th century;[276] before football caught the public imagination. Two of Glasgow's rowing clubs separately claim that it was their members who were among the founders of Rangers Football Club.[277]
Motorcycle speedway racing was first introduced to Glasgow in 1928 and is currently staged atAshfield Stadium in the North of the city. The home club,Glasgow Tigers, compete in theSGB Championship, the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Britain.[278] Glasgow is also one of five places in Scotland that hosts the final of the Scottish Cup ofShinty, better known as theCamanachd Cup. This is usually held at Old Anniesland. Once home to numerous Shinty clubs, there is now only one senior club in Glasgow, Glasgow Mid-Argyll.[279]
On 9 November 2007, Glasgow was selected to be the host city of the2014 Commonwealth Games. The games were held at a number of existing and newly constructed sporting venues across the city, including a refurbishedHampden Park,Kelvingrove Park,Kelvin Hall, and theOVO Hydro at theSECC. The opening ceremony was held at Celtic Park. 2014 was the third time the Games have been held in Scotland.[283][284]
On 17 September 2024, Glasgow was chosen as host for the2026 Commonwealth Games,[285] due toVictoria (the original host) pulling out due to unexpected cost increases.[286]
2 January 1971 –1971 Ibrox disaster – 66 people were killed in a crush, as supporters attempted to vacate the stadium.
11 May 2004 –Stockline Plastics factory explosion – The ICL Plastics factory (commonly referred to as Stockline Plastics factory), in the Woodside district of Glasgow, exploded. Nine people were killed, including two company directors, and 33 injured – 15 seriously. The four-storey building was largely destroyed.
23 May 2014 –Glasgow School of Art blaze – A fire tore through the historic and world-renowned Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh building, that was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Around a tenth of the structure and 30% of its contents were destroyed, including the prized Mackintosh Library. There were no deaths but a few were treated for minor smoke inhalation. The Scottish Fire and Rescue were praised for their quick response and plan to effectively tackle the fire. It was later found after a fire investigation that gases inside a projector had overheated and ignited.
22 December 2014 –2014 Glasgow bin lorry crash – Six people were killed and many were seriously injured when a bin lorry careened out of control and collided with pedestrians, vehicles, and buildings, onQueen Street, Glasgow, before crashing into the Millennium Hotel. The subsequentfatal accident inquiry established that the driver had suffered a "neurocardiogenicsyncope" (fainting) episode that caused him to lose control of his vehicle.[297][298]
29 December 2014 – firstEbola virus case in Scotland –Pauline Cafferkey, a nurse returning to Glasgow fromKerry Town treatment centre,Sierra Leone,West Africa where she had been a volunteer caring for patients infected with the Ebola virus was taken into isolation after testing positive for the virus. She was not diagnosed before leaving Sierra Leone.
15 June 2018 –A fire once again broke out in the partially restored Glasgow School of Art, causing extensive damage. The School was widely criticised for failing to install an effective modern sprinkler system in a timely manner. Emergency services received the first call at 11:19 pm BST, and 120 firefighters and 20 fire engines were dispatched to the fire. No casualties were reported. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
There is an area on PlanetMars whichNASA has named Glasgow, after Scotland's largest city. TheMars rover Curiosity, which landed on the planet in August 2012, has drilled at the site.[299][300]
^(Between 1175–78, exact date unknown)Lambert, Tim."A brief history of Glasgow".localhistories.org.Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved9 May 2017.
^Butler, Richard; Curran, Ross; O'Gorman, Kevin D. (1 September 2013). "Pro-Poor Tourism in a First World Urban Setting: Case Study of Glasgow Govan".International Journal of Tourism Research.15 (5):443–457.doi:10.1002/jtr.1888.ISSN1522-1970.
^"Lithuanians in Glasgow".The Guardian. London. 23 January 2006.Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved9 July 2007.
^Gray, Alastair; Moffat, William (1989) [1985]."Departures and Arrivals".A History of Scotland (Rev ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 39.ISBN978-0199170630.Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved9 July 2007.
^Office of Population Censuses and Surveys; General Register Office for Scotland; Registrar General for Northern Ireland (1997): 1991 Census aggregate data. UK Data Service (Edition: 1997). DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-1991-1 This information is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence
^"Statistical Bulletin"(PDF). National Records of Scotland. 17 December 2012. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 17 October 2013. Retrieved17 October 2013.
^C. Michael Hogan (2011)."Sea of the Hebrides"Archived 24 May 2013 at theWayback Machine. Eds. P. Saundry & C. J. Cleveland.Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington, D.C.
^Ken Gallagher (1 July 1967)."Europe Belongs To Us".Charlie Buchan's Football Monthly. Archived fromthe original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved30 September 2018 – via Soccer Attic.
Cross-Rudkin, Peter; Chrimes, Mike (2008).A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: Vol 2: 1830 to 1890. Thomas Telford.ISBN978-0727735041.
Cunnison, J. and JBS Gilfillan,The City of Glasgow, The Third Statistical Account of Scotland (1958)
Daiches, David.Glasgow (1982), scholarly history
Doak, A M and Young, A M. "Glasgow at a Glance" (1983)
Gibb, Andrew.Glasgow: The Making of a City (1983)
Gomme, A H and Walker, D. "Architecture of Glasgow" (1987)
Horsey, M. "Tenements & Towers: Glasgow Working-Class Housing 1890–1990" (1990)
Hume, John. "Industrial Archaeology of Glasgow" (1974)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
%2c_RP-F-F01864.jpg)
.png)
_Buchanan_Street%2c_Glasgow.jpg)
_Albion_Street%2c_Glasgow%2c_2018-06-28_angle.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
