West End Festival
Encyclopedia
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
History
The West End Festival in Glasgow was started in 1996 by Michael Dale as a small local festival centred on Byres RoadByres Road
Byres Road is a street located in Hillhead, Glasgow and is the central artery of the city's West End.- Location and history :Byres Rd is a mixed commercial, shopping and upmarket residential area consisting largely of traditional sandstone tenements with retail premises on the ground floor and...
.
It has since become the biggest festival in Glasgow's calendar http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Leisure_Culture/ArtsDevelopment/festivalsandevents.htm with events running for 16 days in June. It has been used as a model for other festival start-ups, as with minimal local authority or Scottish Arts Council funding, and has grown with each festival. Its centrepiece carnival parade is the largest carnival event in the UK after Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 2006 the parade day ran congruently with the Glasgow Mela
Mela Festival
Melas are south Asian events which have spread around the world from the south Asian subcontinent. Mela means 'gathering' and can describe festival, market, trade event, religious gathering and more....
; organisers billed it as "Scotland's Mardi Gras" and an estimated 100,000 people took to the streets and parks.http://www.westendfestival.co.uk/.
Main Events
During the festival a wide range of activities and events take place. Prominent is a programme of live music, outdoor theatre, comedy, drama, guided walks, talks, film, children's events, various local street celebrations and markets, and a well-known Carnival Parade and Street Party on the opening Sunday. It has also hosted a series of events such as The Longest Day (1998/99), The Ideal Hut Show (in conjunction with Glasgow's Year of Architecture) and in 2004 a free outdoor concert led by Belle & SebastianBelle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...
in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Glasgow Botanic Gardens is an Arboretum and public park located in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. It features several glasshouses, the most notable of which is the Kibble Palace. The gardens were created in 1817, and run by the Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow , and were intended to supply...
and in 2006 an outdoor production with a cast of sixty actors based on the life of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. In 2008 the Globe Theatre from London performed "Romeo and Juliet" in the hallowed quarters of the University of Glasgow quadrangle, underneath the iconic George Gilbert Scott tower. Regular features include the Bard in the Botanics (founded 1999), a Children's Author series featuring authors such as Julia Donaldson, and the Gibson Street Gala, started in 2004. In 2010 this attracted over 15,000 people. An innovation for 2010 was a West End Highland Games at Hughenden Sport Fields.
Awards
The festival was placed in the top 30 festivals in Europe by The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper.Two other Scottish festivals listed were listed, the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
and T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
. The free 2004 Belle and Sebastian concert was voted in the top 20 gigs of all time by the Scotsman newspaper in 2007.The festival was voted number one in the top five reasons to visit Glasgow by Trip Advisor in 2007.
Main Venues
- Anniesland CollegeAnniesland CollegeAnniesland College is a small, local further education college in Glasgow, Scotland, established in 1964.Kenny Dalglish, the Scottish international football player was briefly a student, as an apprentice joiner, in the 1970s....
- Ashton LaneAshton LaneAshton Lane is a cobbled backstreet in the West End of Glasgow. It is connected to Byres Road by a short linking lane beside Hillhead subway station and is noted for its bars, restaurants and a licenced cinema....
- Captain's Rest
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh Church
- Coach House Trust
- College of Piping
- Cottier Theatre
- Gilmorehill G12
- Glasgow Botanic GardensGlasgow Botanic GardensGlasgow Botanic Gardens is an Arboretum and public park located in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. It features several glasshouses, the most notable of which is the Kibble Palace. The gardens were created in 1817, and run by the Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow , and were intended to supply...
- Glasgow Museum of TransportGlasgow Museum of TransportThe Glasgow Museum of Transport in Glasgow, Scotland was established in 1964 and initially located at a former tram depot in Pollokshields. From 1987 the museum was relocated to the city's Kelvin Hall...
- Hidden Lane
- Hillhead Baptist Church
- Hillhead Library
- Hunterian Museum
- Hyndland Parish Church
- Kelvin Stevenson Church
- Kelvinside AcademyKelvinside AcademyKelvinside Academy is a private school in the City of Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1878. It has a capacity of 640 pupils and spans two years of Junior Start , six years of Junior School , and seven years of Senior School , comprising fifteen years in all...
- Kelvinside Allotments
- Kelvinside Hillhead Church
- Kelvingrove Art Gallery
- Kelvingrove ParkKelvingrove ParkKelvingrove Park is a public park located on the River Kelvin in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, containing the world-famous Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.-History:...
- Kibble Palace
- La Bodega / Dance With Attitude
- Lansdowne Church
- Mansfield ParkMansfield ParkMansfield Park may mean:* Mansfield Park by Jane Austen* Mansfield Park , based on the novel, directed by Patricia Rozema, starring Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, and Sheila Gish in 1999...
- Mitchell LibraryMitchell LibraryThe Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the public library system of Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The library was established with a bequest from Stephen Mitchell, a wealthy tobacco manufacturer, whose company, Stephen Mitchell & Son, would become one of the constituent members...
- Oran Mor
- Partick Burgh Halls
- Partick Library
- St Bride's ChurchSt Bride's ChurchSt Bride's Church is a church in the City of London, England. The building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 on Fleet Street in the City of London, though Wren's original building was largely gutted by fire during the London Blitz in 1940. Due to its location on...
- St Mary's CathedralSt. Mary's Cathedral, GlasgowThe Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is located on the Great Western Road, in the west end of Glasgow, Scotland. The current building was opened on 9 November 1871 as St Mary's Episcopal Church and was completed in 1893 when the spire was...
- St. Luke's Orthodox Cathedral
- St Peter's Church, Partick
- Stand Comedy Club
- Steiner School
- Tchaiovna Tea Rooms
- The Tall Ship at Glasgow Harbour
- University of GlasgowUniversity of GlasgowThe University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
- Wellington ChurchWellington ChurchWellington Church is a congregation and parish church of the Church of Scotland, serving part of the Hillhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. The building is located on University Avenue, Glasgow, opposite the University of Glasgow.-Building:...
- West of Scotland Cricket Ground