Glasgay!

Glasgay is Scotland's annual celebration of gay and lesbian culture. The month-long, multi-artform event presents a varied programme of top acts and new artists from around the world with events spanning comedy, music, film, theatre, visual art, performance art, literature, club nights, education events and community arts projects.

Venue: Various venues.
Website: http://www.glasgay.co.uk

Glasgow's Hogmanay

New Year's Eve celebrations offer the best in Scottish themed entertainment and activities including Highland Dancing, pipe bands, free performances by top Ceilidh bands and much more.

Venue: George Square and other venues.

Celtic Connections

Glasgow's annual folk, roots and world music festival, Celtic Connections celebrates Celtic music and its connections to cultures across the globe. Typically, over 2,000 musicians from around the world descend on Glasgow and bring the city to life for almost three weeks of concerts, ceilidhs, talks, art exhibitions, workshops and free events.

Venue: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and other venues.
Website: http://www.celticconnections.com

Glasgow Film Festival

The festival programme encompasses a huge range of moving image experiences. Visitors can expect entertaining galas, premieres, parties, lively events, celebrities and of course a collection of stunning documentaries from around the world.

Venue: Various venues.
Website: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/festival

Glasgow International Comedy Festival

The Glasgow International Comedy Festival is attracting increasingly bigger and better names, making it one of the most well respected comedy festivals in Britain, rivalling even Edinburgh's line-ups. Venues range from small pubs to big theatres and concert halls, so you can expect everything from major shows featuring big names on the circuit to little gems by unknown performers. Nearly 300 shows take place at some 40 venues all over Glasgow.

Venue: Various venues.
Website: http://www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com

West End Festival

This old-fashioned community festival and street party take place in Glasgow's academic and campus quarter and include live music, film screenings, garden fetes, cake stalls, barbecue and family fun days, and a Japanese Matsuri, where visitors put on a kimono, make origami and try their hand at the Japanese alphabet.

Venue: Various West End venues and streets.
Website: http://www.westendfestival.co.uk

Glasgow Jazz Festival

Now sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Glasgow Jazz Festival continues to progress, with over 160 separate performances staged each year. Most concerts take place at the Royal Bank Big Stage, aided and abetted by other concert venues and many Fringe venues around the Merchant City area. This is a festival with strong roots and many top names have featured here in past years.

Venue: Royal Bank Big Stage and various venues.
Website: http://www.jazzfest.co.uk

Merchant City Festival

This vibrant arts and entertainment festival takes place in about 70 venues in Glasgow's rejuvenated cultural quarter. A packed, four-day programme includes music, theatre, comedy, film, food and exhibitions in a list of about 300 events. Past acts include the Urban Rocks Fashion Show, Ceilidh Dance Class, cutting-edge film screenings and street theatre.

Venue: Various venues in Merchant City.
Website: http://www.merchantcityfestival.com

Piping Live!

Scottish pipe bands from around the world perform daily for three hours in the middle of Glasgow during the annual Piping Live! event. Daily workshops offer an opportunity to be initiated into the secrets of the bag pipe – the quintessentially Scottish instrument. There are also café pipe jamming sessions, piping lectures, a Festival Club, the World Solo Amateur Piping Competition and the eagerly awaited Pipe Idol competition.

Venue: St Enoch Square and various other venues.
Website: http://www.pipinglive.co.uk