Imagine the state of Malaysian football, if the war-torn country of Iraq could conquer the Asia Cup. We need to buck up. Although I am not good at football, is the Malaysian football team alwez gonna be Kenasepak FC?
Glasgow (Glaschu in Gaelic; or Glesca/Glesga in Scots) is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Glasgow is the most populous unitary authority area. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian. Glaswegian is also the name of the local dialect.
Glasgow grew from the medieval Bishopric of Glasgow and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow, which contributed to the Scottish Enlightenment. From the 18th century the city had become one of Europe's main hubs of transatlantic trade with the Americas. With the Industrial Revolution, the city and surrounding region grew to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of engineering and shipbuilding,[3] constructing many revolutionary and famous vessels. Glasgow was known as the "Second City of the British Empire" in the Victorian era.[4] Today it is one of Europe's top twenty financial centres and is home to many of Scotland's leading businesses.[5]
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Glasgow grew to a population of over one million[6], and was the fourth-largest city in Europe, after London, Paris and Berlin.[7] In the 1960s large-scale relocation to new towns in the suburban area of the city, followed by successive boundary changes, have reduced the current population of the City of Glasgow unitary authority area to 578,790.[8] 1,171,390 people live in the Greater Glasgow Urban Area based on the 2001 census.[1] The entire Glasgow conurbation covers approximately 2.3 million people.[9]
The present site of Glasgow has been used since prehistoric times for settlement due to it being the forded point of the River Clyde furthest downstream, which also provided a natural area for salmon fishing. The origins of Glasgow as an established city derive ultimately from its medieval position as Scotland's second largest bishopric. Glasgow became important in the 12th century as the site of this bishopric, reorganized by King David I of Scotland and John, Bishop of Glasgow. There had been an earlier religious site established by Saint Kentigern. The bishopric became one of the largest and wealthiest in the Kingdom of Scotland, bringing wealth and status to the town. Somewhere between 1175 and 1178 this position was strengthened even further when Bishop Jocelin obtained for the episcopal settlement the status of burgh from King William the Lion, allowing the settlement to expand with the benefits of trading monopolies and other legal guarantees. Sometime between 1189 and 1195 this status was supplemented by an annual fair, which survives to this day as the Glasgow Fair.
Glasgow grew over the following centuries, and the founding of the University of Glasgow in 1451 and elevation of the bishopric to an archbishopric in 1492 increasing the town's religious and educational status.
Daniel Defoe visited the city in the early 18th century and famously opined that that Glasgow was "the cleanest and beautifullest and best built City in Britain, London excepted". At that time, the city's population numbered approximately 12,000, and its structures largely consisted of compact wooden buildings, none of which remains today.
After the Acts of Union in 1707, Scotland gained trading access to the vast markets of the British Empire and Glasgow became prominent in international commerce as a hub of trade to the Americas, especially in the movement of tobacco, cotton and sugar into the city's deep water port at Port Glasgow. Many of Glasgow's streets, including Glassford Street and Buchanan Street, are named after local tobacco traders who grew rich from goods produced by slave labour in the American Colonies until the American War of Independence, after which the merchants concentrated mainly on the West Indies.[10]
In its subsequent industrial era, Glasgow produced textiles, engineered goods and steel, which were exported. The opening of the Monkland Canal in 1791, facilitated access to the Iron-ore and Coal mines in Lanarkshire. After extensive engineering projects to dredge and deepen the Clyde, Shipbuilding became a major industry on the upper stretches of the river, building many famous ships including the Cunard liners RMS Lusitania, RMS Aquitania, RMS Queen Mary, RMS Queen Elizabeth, RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, and the Royal Yacht Britannia. Glasgow's population had surpassed that of Edinburgh by 1821. By the end of the 19th century the city was known as the "Second City of the Empire" and was producing most of the ships and locomotives in the world. During this period, the construction of many of the city's greatest architectural masterpieces and most ambitious civic projects were being funded by its wealth.
The city experienced mixed fortunes during 20th century. After World War One, the city suffered from the impact of the Post-WWI recession and from the later Great Depression, this also led to a rise of radical socialism and the "Red Clydeside" movement. The city had recovered by the outbreak of the Second World War and grew through the post-war boom that lasted through the 1950s. However by the 1960s, a lack of investment and innovation led to growing overseas competition in countries like Japan and Germany which weakened the once pre-eminent position of many of the city's industries. As a result of this, Glasgow entered a long running period of relative economic malaise, leading to high unemployment, urban decay, population decline and poor health for the city's inhabitants. There were active attempts at regeneration of the city, when the Glasgow Corporation published its controversial Bruce Report which set out a comprehensive series of initiatives aimed at turning round the decline of the city.
By the 1990s, there had been a significant resurgence in Glasgow's economic fortunes, finding a new role as a European centre for business services and finance, as well as benefiting from an increase in tourism and inward investment. The latter is largely due to the legacy of the city's status as European City of Culture in 1990, and the product of its thriving artistic community. This economic revival has continued and the ongoing regeneration of inner-city areas has led to people moving back to live in the centre of Glasgow.
It is common to derive the name Glasgow from the older Brythonic glas cau or a Middle Gaelic cognate, which would have meant green hollow. The settlement probably had an earlier Cumbric name, Cathures; the modern name appears for the first time in the Gaelic period (1116), as Glasgu. However, it is also recorded that the King of Strathclyde, Rhydderch Hael, welcomed Saint Kentigern (also known as Saint Mungo), and procured his consecration as bishop about 540. For some thirteen years Kentigern laboured in the region, building his church at the Molendinar Burn, and making many converts. A large community developed around him and became known as Glasgu (meaning the dear family).
The coat of arms of the City of Glasgow, as granted to the royal burgh by the Lord Lyon on October 25, 1866.[11] It incorporates a number of symbols and emblems associated with the life of Glasgow's patron saint, Kentigern (often known by his nickname, Mungo) which had been used on official seals prior to that date. The emblems represent miracles supposed to have been performed by Mungo and are listed in the traditional rhyme:
Kentigern is also said to have preached a sermon containing the words Lord, 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. The motto was more recently commemorated in a song called "Mother Glasgow", which was actually written by Dundonian singer/songwriter Michael Marra, but popularised by Hue and Cry.
In 1450, John Stewart, the first Lord 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 the People's Palace Museum, near Glasgow 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 of benediction". The original 1866 grant placed the crest atop a helm, but this was removed in subsequent grants. The current version (1996) has a gold mural 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 rematriculated by the City of Glasgow District Council on February 6, 1975, and by the present area council on March 25, 1996. The only change made on each occasion was in the type of coronet over the arms.[12][13]
Glasgow is located on the banks of the River Clyde, in West Central Scotland.
Weather in Glasgow is not typical of the weather in the rest of Scotland for several reasons. Glasgow benefits from its mild south western position; the Gulf Stream currents flow up the Clyde estuary from the Atlantic warming the entire region. The city is also sheltered by the surrounding Clyde Valley hills keeping the city fairly humid throughout the year. The temperature is often milder than the rest of the country. In general, the temperature in Glasgow is around the same as that in the North of England. In Scotland the weather is more likely to change from a rain storm to a heatwave in the same day.
Though there are a few rainy and windy days, the spring months (March to May) are mild and cool. Many of Glasgow's trees and plants begin to flower at this time of the year and parks and gardens are filled with spring colours.
The summer months (May to September) are often long, warm, calm and sunny, but can vary considerably. The winds are generally westerly, due to the warm Gulf Stream. The warmest month is usually July, the daily high averaging 20 °C. (Highest recorded temperature 33.8 °C Glasgow July 2006.)
Despite some infrequent clear or dry days, winters in Glasgow are normally damp and cold. However, the Gulf Stream ensures that Glasgow stays warmer than other cities at the same latitude, like Moscow. Winds and rainfall are often fairly chilling and strong, like the rest of western Scotland. Severe snowfalls are infrequent and melt within days. December, January and February are the wettest months of the year, but can often be sunny and clear.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average maximum daily temperature (°C) | 6 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 7 | ||
| Average minimum daily temperature (°C) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Source: The Weather Channel[14] | ||||||||||||||
The population of the Glasgow City Council area peaked in the 1950s at 1,200,000 people and before that for 80 years was over 1 million. During this period, Glasgow was one of the most densely populated cities in the world. After the 1960s, clearings of poverty-stricken inner city areas like the Gorbals and relocation to 'new towns' such as East Kilbride and Cumbernauld led to population decline. In addition, successive boundary changes by the Scottish Office and UK governments reduced the official city boundaries (and hence the official population) making direct comparisons difficult. The city continues to expand beyond the official city council boundaries into surrounding suburban areas, encompassing around 1000 square kilometres if all adjoining suburbs, commuter towns and villages are included.
There are two distinct definitions for the population of Glasgow; the Glasgow City Council Area (which lost the districts of Rutherglen and Cambuslang to South Lanarkshire in 1996) and the Greater Glasgow Urban Area which includes the urban conurbation around the city.
From the 1840s till the mid-1960's, Glasgow became home to many Irish-Scots. principally from the counties of Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Sligo and Mayo. Many Highlanders also migrated to the city as a result of the Highland Clearances.
Prior to 1914 many Lithuanian asylum seekers settled in Glasgow and at its height in the 1950s there were around 10,000 in the Glasgow area.[15] Many Italian-Scots also settled in Glasgow, originating from areas like Frosinone and Lucca at this time, many originally working as "Hokey Pokey" men.[16] In the 1960's and '70's, many Asian-Scots also settled in Glasgow, mainly in the Pollokshields area aswell as Cantonese immigrants, many of whom settled in the Garnethill area of the city. Since 2000, the UK government has pursued a policy of dispersal of asylum seekers to ease pressure on social housing in the London area. Glasgow has seen waves of new arrivals because of this policy, though not always smoothly in some districts. At first there was heavily publicised resentment from the established local population, and the policy looked to have failed, particularly when several hundred refugees left Glasgow voluntarily to make their own way back to London following a couple of high profile murders.
| Location | Population | Area (km²) | Density (/km²) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow City Council[8] | 578,790 | 175.49 | 3298 | |
| Greater Glasgow Urban Area[17] | 1,168,270 | 368.47 | 3171 | |
| Source: Scotland's Census Results Online[18] | ||||
Since the 2001 census the population decline has stabilised. The 2004 population of the city council area was 685,090 and the population of both the City of Glasgow Council area and Greater Glasgow are forecast to grow in the near future. Around 2,300,000 people live in the Glasgow travel to work area.[9] This area is defined as having 10% and over of residents travelling into Glasgow to work, and has no fixed boundaries.[19]
Compared to Inner London (8,663 people per sq km), Scotland's major city has less than half the current population density of the English capital (3,293). However, in 1931 the population density was 6,182, highlighting the subsequent 'clearances' to the suburbs and new towns that were built to empty one of Europe's most densely populated cities.[20]
Glasgow was historically based around Glasgow Cathedral, the old High Street and down to the River Clyde via Glasgow Cross.
The city centre is bounded by the High Street to the east, the River Clyde to the south and the M8 motorway to the west and north which was built through the Townhead, Charing Cross and Anderston areas in the 1960s.
The city centre is based on a grid system of streets, similar to that of Barcelona or American cities, on the north bank of the River Clyde. The heart of the city is George Square, site of many of Glasgow's public statues and the elaborate Victorian Glasgow City Chambers, headquarters of Glasgow City Council. To the south and west are the high street shopping precincts of Argyle, Sauchiehall and Buchanan Streets, the latter featuring more upmarket retailers. The main shopping malls are Buchanan Galleries and the St. Enoch Centre, as well as the more specialised, designer malls: Princes' Square and the Italian Centre. The London-based department store Selfridges has purchased a potential development site in the city and another upmarket retail chain Harvey Nichols is also thought to be planning a store in the city, further strengthening Glasgow's already impressive retail portfolio, which forms the UK's second largest and most economically important retail sector after Central London.[21] The layout of the approximately two and a half mile long retail district of Buchanan Street, Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street has been termed the "Golden Z". In October 2005 retail locations in the area were sought after to the extent that Buchanan Street had the 7th highest shop rental fees in the world.[22]
The city centre is home to most of Glasgow's main cultural venues: The Theatre Royal (home of Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet), The Pavilion, The King's Theatre, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow Film Theatre, RSAMD, Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), Mitchell Library, the Centre for Contemporary Arts, McLellan Galleries and The Lighthouse Museum of Architecture, Design and the City. The world's tallest cinema, the 18 screen Cineworld is sited on Renfrew Street. The city centre is also home to four of Glasgow's higher education institutions:The University of Strathclyde, RSAMD, Glasgow School of Art and Glasgow Caledonian University.
To the east is the commercial and residential district of Merchant City, which was formerly the residential district of the wealthy city merchants in the 18th and early 19th centuries. As the Industrial Revolution and the wealth it brought to the city resulted in the expansion of Glasgow's central area westward, the original medieval centre was left behind. This area, commonly known as "Old Glasgow" takes in the eastern fringes of the Merchant City and some of the East End. Glasgow Cross, situated at the junction of High Street, Gallowgate, Trongate and Saltmarket was the original centre of the city. In the Cross sits the Tolbooth Clock Tower; all that remains of the original City Chambers, which was destroyed by fire in 1926. Moving northward up High Street towards Rottenrow and Townhead lies the 15th century Glasgow Cathedral and the Provand's Lordship. Latterly, due to growing industrial pollution levels in the mid to late 19th century, the area fell out of favour with residents, who mostly moved to the newly developed West End and South Side districts.
From the late 1980s onwards, the area has been rejuvenated with luxury city centre apartments and warehouse conversions. Many new cafes and restaurants have opened. The area also contains the Old Tolbooth, the Tron Theatre, the Old Fruitmarket, the Trades Hall, and the City Halls.
The area is also home to Glasgow's growing 'Arts Quarter', based around King Street, the Saltmarket and Trongate, and at the heart of the annual Merchant City Festival. There are many art galleries here including Glasgow Print Studio and will soon be home to Trongate 103, a new arts centre.
A large part of Glasgow's gay scene is located within the Merchant City. This includes Polo Lounge, MODA, Delmonica's, Bennett's, Court, Revolver, Merchant Pride, and the UK gay chain store Clone Zone, along with a couple of saunas.
Recently the city council defined (and perhaps expanded) the area known as Merchant City as far west as Buchanan Street, marking these boundaries with new, highly stylised metal signage.
To the western edge of the city centre, occupying the areas of Blythswood Hill and Anderston, lies Glasgow's financial district, known officially as the International Financial Services District (IFSD), although often irreverently nicknamed by the contemporary press as the "square kilometre" or "Wall Street on Clyde". Since the late 1980s the IFSD has grown to become the third largest financial quarter in the UK after the cities of London and Edinburgh. With a reputation as an established financial services centre, coupled with comprehensive support services, Glasgow continues to attract and grow new business. Of the 10 largest general insurance companies in the UK, 8 have a base or head office in Glasgow - including Direct Line, AXA and Norwich Union. Key banking sector companies have also relocated some of their services to commercial property in Glasgow - Resolution, JPMorgan, Abbey, HBOS, Barclays Wealth, Morgan Stanley, Lloyds TSB, Clydesdale Bank, BNP Paribas and the Royal Bank of Scotland. The Ministry of Defence have several departments and Clydeport, the Glasgow Stock Exchange, Student Loans Company, Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department, Scottish Qualifications Authority and Scottish Enterprise also have their headquarters based in the district.
Since the late 1980s, this area of the city centre has seen the construction of many modern office blocks, a trend which continues into the 21st century with a new wave of high rise developments currently on the drawing board
Glasgow's West End refers to the bohemian district of cafés, tea rooms, bars, boutiques, upmarket hotels, clubs and restaurants in the hinterland of Kelvingrove Park, the University of Glasgow, BBC Scotland's Headquarters, Glasgow Botanic Gardens and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. The area's main thoroughfare is Byres Road and one of its most popular destinations is Ashton Lane. The district is home to some of the wealthiest addresses in Scotland. The West End includes the upmarket residential areas of Hillhead, Dowanhill, Kelvingrove, Kelvinside, Hyndland, and, to an increasing extent, Partick. However the name is now being used to refer to anywhere to the west of Charing Cross. This includes areas like Scotstoun, Jordanhill, Kelvindale and Anniesland. The spire of Sir George Gilbert Scott's Glasgow University main building (the second largest Gothic Revival building in Britain) is a major local landmark, and can be seen for miles around, sitting atop Gilmorehill. The university itself is the fourth oldest in the English-speaking world, after Oxford, Cambridge and St. Andrews. Much of the city's student population is based in the West End, adding to its cultural vibrancy. The district's most well known school, Hillhead High, is sited adjacent to the university.
The area is also home to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Hunterian Museum, Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena, Henry Wood Hall (home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra) and the Museum of Transport, which is to be rebuilt on an old dockland site at Glasgow Harbour to a design by Zaha Hadid. The West End Festival, one of Glasgow's biggest festivals, is held annually in June.
Glasgow is Europe's fastest growing conference and events destination, and the SECC is the UK's largest exhibition and conference centre. A major expansion of the SECC facilities at the former Queen's Dock by Foster and Partners is currently planned, including a 12,000 seat arena, and a 5 star hotel and entertainments complex.
The area is served by bus, rail and the Glasgow Subway.
The East End is home to the famous Glasgow Barrowland Market, popularly known as 'The Barras', and Barrowland Ballroom Music Hall, Glasgow Green, and Celtic Park, home of Glasgow Celtic FC. Many of the original sandstone tenements remain in this district. The East End in contrast to the West End, includes some of the most deprived areas in the UK. However, many areas of the district are not deprived in any way. In particular, the Dennistoun area has become increasingly fashionable and expensive.
The Glasgow Necropolis Cemetery was created on a hill above the Cathedral of Saint Mungo in 1831. Routes curve through the landscape uphill to the 62 metre high statue of John Knox at the summit, with some tombs designed by prominent local architect Alexander 'Greek' Thomson. The design creates a dramatic skyline of obelisks, pinnacles and statues in memory of Glasgow's wealthiest inhabitants. It was described by James Curle as 'literally a city of the dead'. The main entrance is approached by a bridge over what was the Molendinar Burn towards an impressive set of classical mausolea. The bridge, designed by James Hamilton, is known as the Bridge of Sighs because it formed the route of funeral processions.
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 by David Dale, whose former pretensions can be gauged by the one remaining house, now run by the National Trust for Scotland. Further along Charlotte Street there stands a modern Gillespie, 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.
East of Glasgow Cross is the magnificent Saint Andrew's Church, built in 1746 and displaying a Presbyterian grandeur befitting the church of the city's wealthy tobacco merchants. Also close by is the more modest Episcopalian Saint Andrew's-by-the-Green, the oldest post-Reformation church in Scotland.
Overlooking Glasgow Green is the façade of Templeton's carpet factory, featuring vibrant polychromatic brickwork intended to evoke the Doge's Palace in Venice.
The extensive Tollcross Park was originally developed from the estate of James Dunlop, the owner of a local steelworks. His large baronial mansion was built in 1848 by David Bryce, which later housed the city's Children's Museum until the 1980s. Today, the mansion is a sheltered housing complex.
The new Scottish National Indoor Sports Arena, a modern replacement for the Kelvin Hall, is planned for Dalmarnock. If the 2014 Commonwealth Games bid is successful, the area will house the Athletes' Village, adjacent to the new indoor sports arena.
To the north of the East End lie the two massive gasometers of Provan Gas Works, which stand overlooking Alexandra Park and a major interchange between the M8 and M80 motorways. Often used for displaying large city advertising slogans, the towers have become an unofficial portal into the city for road users arriving from the north and east.
Glasgow's South Side, the largest area of the city, sprawls out south of the Clyde, and outwith the local council's jurisdiction, covering areas including the Gorbals, Shawlands, Strathbungo, Mount Florida, Pollokshaws, Nitshill, Pollokshields, Queen's Park, Ibrox, Cessnock, Govan, Mansewood, Arden, Darnley, Pollok, Croftfoot, Cathcart, Busby, Clarkston, Giffnock, Thornliebank, Netherlee, East Kilbride and Newton Mearns.
Although predominantly residential, the area does have several notable public buildings. Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Scotland Street School Museum and House for an Art Lover; the world famous Burrell Collection in Pollok Country Park; the National Football Stadium Hampden Park in Mount Florida, (home of Queens Park F.C.) and Ibrox Stadium, (home of Rangers).
The former docklands site at Pacific Quay on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the SECC, is the site of the Glasgow Science Centre and the new headquarters for BBC Scotland and SMG plc (owner of STV) which have relocated there to a new purpose built digital media campus.
In addition, several new bridges spanning the River Clyde have been built or are currently planned, including the Clyde Arc at Pacific Quay and others at Tradeston and Springfield Quay.
The South Side also includes many great parks, including Linn Park, Queen's Park, Bellahouston Park and Rouken Glen Park, and several golf clubs, including the championship course at Hagg's Castle. The South Side is also home to Pollok Country Park, which is Glasgow’s largest park and the only country park within the city boundaries.
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, opposite Partick. It was an administratively independent Police Burgh from 1864 until it was incorporated into the expanding city of Glasgow in 1912.
Govan has a great legacy as an engineering and shipbuilding centre of international repute and is home to one of two BAE Systems shipyards on the River Clyde and the precision engineering firm, Thales Optronics. It is also home to the Southern General Hospital, one of the largest teaching hospitals in the country, and the maintenance depot for the Glasgow Subway system.
North Glasgow extends out from the north of the city centre towards the affluent suburbs of Bearsden, Milngavie, Bishopbriggs, Kirkintilloch and Lenzie in East Dunbartonshire. However, it also contains some of the city's poorest residential areas. Possilpark is one such area, where levels of unemployment and drug abuse continue to be above the national average. Much of the housing in areas such as Possilpark and Hamiltonhill had fallen into a state of disrepair in recent years. 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 as Ruchill, which have been transformed; many run-down tenements have now been refurbished or replaced by modern housing estates.
Much of the housing stock in north Glasgow is rented social housing, managed by the Glasgow Housing Association. In parts of the north of the city, such as Springburn, there are many high-rise tower blocks. These buildings were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s and were viewed as the answer to Glasgow’s inner-city slum problems, but are now widely discredited as being poorly built and unsuited to traditional urban living, and are held responsible by many for the social alienation that exists in the poorest parts of the city today, an alienation unmatched by any other council area in Western Europe.
Not all areas of north Glasgow are of this nature however. Maryhill for example, 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 as Maryhill Park and North Kelvinside. Maryhill is also home to Firhill Stadium, home of Partick Thistle FC since 1909, and briefly the professional Rugby Union team, Glasgow Warriors. The junior team, Maryhill F.C. are also located in this part of north Glasgow.
The Forth 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.
Sighthill is home to Scotland’s largest asylum seeker community.
A huge part of the economic life of Glasgow was once located in Springburn, where the engineering works and locomotive workshops employed many Glaswegians. Indeed, 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 the North British Locomotive Company. Today the engineering group Alstom's railway maintenance facility in the area is all that is left of the industry in Springburn.
Very little of medieval Glasgow remains, the two main landmarks from this period being the 14th century Provand's Lordship and St. Mungo's Cathedral. The vast majority of the city as seen today dates from the 19th century. As a result, Glasgow has an impressive heritage of Victorian architecture - the Glasgow City Chambers, the main building of the University of Glasgow, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and the Glasgow School of Art, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh are outstanding examples. Another architect who had a enduring impact on the city's appearance was Alexander Thomson, who produced a distinctive architecture based on fundamentalist classicism that gave him the nickname "Greek".
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. The shipyards, marine engineering, steel making, and heavy industry all contributed to the growth of the city. At one time the expression "Clydebuilt" was synonymous with quality and engineering excellence[23]. The Templeton's carpet factory on Glasgow Green was designed to resemble the Doge's Palace in Venice.
Many of the city's most impressive buildings were built with red or blond sandstone, but during the industrial era those colours disappeared under a pervasive black layer of soot and pollutants from the furnaces, until the Clean Air Act was introduced in 1956.
In recent years many of these buildings have been cleaned and restored to their original appearance. Others were demolished to make way for large, barrack-like housing estates, and high-rise flats in tower blocks. The latter were built in large numbers during the 1960s and early 1970s; Glasgow has a higher concentration of high-rise buildings than any other city in the British Isles. At 31 storeys, the Red Road Flats in the north of the city were for many years the highest residential buildings in Europe.
Tenements were built to house the workers who migrated from Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in order to feed the local demand for labour; these tenements were often overcrowded and unsanitary. Many developed into the infamous Glasgow slums, such as the notorious Gorbals. These housing estates, known as "schemes", are widely regarded as unsuccessful: many, such as Castlemilk, were just dormitories well away from the centre of the city with no amenities ("deserts wi' windaes" [deserts with windows], as Billy Connolly put it), and their establishment led to the split up of long established community relationships[24]. Some of the high-rise developments were poorly designed and cheaply built and became magnets for crime. Over time some have become as bad as the slum areas that they replaced, though at the time of construction they were largely welcomed. On 7 March 2003, the Glasgow Housing Association took ownership of the housing stock from the city council, and has begun a programme of demolishing the worst of the tower blocks. Still, Glasgow's skyline is largely dominated by 1960s high rise flats.
Modern buildings in Glasgow include the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and along the banks of the Clyde are the Glasgow Science Centre and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, whose Clyde Auditorium was designed by Sir Norman Foster, and is affectionately known as the "Armadillo". Zaha Hadid won a competition to design the new Museum of Transport, which will move to the waterfront[25]. Shopping centres include the Buchanan Galleries, the glass pyramid of the St Enoch Centre, and the upmarket Princes' Square.
Given the history of high rises in Glasgow, the council's policy of allowing new tall buildings has attracted some controversy. The 39-storey Elphinstone Place mixed-use skyscraper in Charing Cross will be the tallest building in Scotland, and was scheduled to begin construction in mid 2006.[26] Much development is taking place along the banks of the Clyde. Glasgow Harbour, which neighbours Partick is one of the largest residential developments. The second phase was unfavourably compared to the Red Road Flats,[27] but was granted planning permission.
The city has many amenities for a wide range of cultural activities, from curling to opera, ballet and from football to art appreciation; it also has a large selection of museums that include those devoted to transport, religion, and modern art. The city's principal library, the Mitchell Library, is one of the largest public reference libraries in Europe, currently housing some 1,213,000 volumes.[28]
Most of Scotland's national arts organisations are based in Glasgow, including Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, The National Theatre of Scotland, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and National Youth Theatre of Scotland.
Glasgow has its own "Poet Laureate", a post created in 1999 for Edwin Morgan[29] and as of 2007 occupied by Liz Lochhead.
Glasgow is home to a variety of theatres including The King's Theatre, Theatre Royal and the Citizens' Theatre and is home to many municipal museums and art galleries, the most famous being the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) and the Burrell Collection. Most of the museums in Glasgow are publicly owned and free to enter.
The city has hosted many exhibitions over the years, including being the UK City of Architecture 1999, European Capital of Culture 1990, National City of Sport 1995-1999 and European Capital of Sport 2003.
In addition, unlike the Edinburgh Festival (where all Edinburgh's main festivals occur in the last three weeks of August), Glasgow's festivals virtually fill the calendar. Festivals include the Glasgow Comedy Festival, Glasgow Jazz Festival, Celtic Connections, Glasgow Film Festival, West End Festival, Merchant City Festival, Glasgay, and the World Pipe Band Championships.
Glasgow has many live music pubs, clubs and venues. Some of the city's main venues include the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, the SECC and King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (where Oasis were spotted and signed by Glaswegian record mogul Alan McGee) and the Barrowlands, a historic ballroom, converted into a live music venue. More recent mid-sized venues include ABC and the Carling Academy, which play host to a similar range of acts. The Cathouse often hosts gigs from a variety of Punk, Metal and Industrial bands. Glasgow is also home to a thriving electronic music scene, with a particularly strong reputation for techno and house music. Clubs like the Arches, the Sub Club and record labels such as Soma and Glasgow Underground have supported this strong underground movement for the past two decades in the city.
In recent years, the success of bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Belle & Sebastian, the Fratellis and Mogwai has significantly boosted the profile of the Glasgow music scene, prompting Time Magazine to liken Glasgow to Detroit during its 1960s Motown heyday.[30]
Glasgow is home to the Scottish national media. It is home to the headquarters of BBC Scotland as well as STV (formerly Scottish Television). The Scottish press publishes various newspapers in the city such as the Evening Times, The Herald, The Sunday Herald, the Sunday Mail and the Daily Record. Scottish editions of Trinity Mirror and News International titles are printed in the city. SMG plc is a Glasgow-based media conglomerate with interests in television, radio and publishing. SMG owns and operates both Scottish ITV franchises (Central Scotland and Grampian), both now branded STV, Virgin Radio, Pearl & Dean, and Primesight - who sell outdoor advertising sites such as billboards.
Various radio stations are also located in Glasgow. Emap plc (formerly Scottish Radio Holdings) owns the principal commercial radio stations in Glasgow; Clyde 1 and Clyde 2, which can reach over 2.3 million listeners.[31] In 2004, SMG plc sold its 27.8% stake in Scottish Radio Holdings to the broadcasting group EMAP for £90.5 m. Other stations include Smooth Radio 105.2, Real Radio and Rock Radio FM, which are all owned by GMG Radio. There are also a number of local broadcasters in the area, such as Sunny Govan Radio.
The city is an increasingly multi-cultural, multi-ethnic community with diverse religions.[32]
The Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church are the two largest Christian denominations in the city (in terms of membership). There are 150 congregations in the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Glasgow (of which 106 are within the City of Glasgow boundaries, the other 44 being in adjacent areas such as Giffnock).[33] The city has four Christian Cathedrals: Glasgow Cathedral, St Andrew's Cathedral, St Mary's Cathedral and St Luke's Cathedral.
The Central Mosque in the Gorbals district is the largest mosque in Scotland and, along with 12 other mosques in the city, caters for the city's estimated 33,000 Muslim population.[34] Glasgow also has seven synagogues. It has the seventh largest Jewish population in the UK after London, Manchester, Leeds, Gateshead, Brighton and Bournemouth, but once had a Jewish population second only to London, estimated at 20,000 in the Gorbals alone.[35] Glasgow also has a Hindu Mandir, and a new Sikh Temple which opened in 2007.
Glasgow opened the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in 1993, which is the only religious multi-faith museum in the world and is home to works of considerable significance, such as Dali's representation of Christ on the cross.[36]
Sectarian rivalry exists within the population. This is most visible in the rivalry between the supporters of Celtic and Rangers. The majority of Rangers supporters are nominally Protestant, while the majority of Celtic supporters are nominally Catholic.
Glaswegian, otherwise known as The Glasgow Patter is a local, anglicised variety of Scots.
Glaswegian is a dialect, more than an alternative pronunciation; words also change their meaning as all over in Scotland, e.g. "away" can mean "leaving" as in A'm awa, an instruction to stop being a nuisance as in awa wi ye, or "drunk" or "demented" as in he's awa wi it. Pieces refers to "sandwiches". Ginger is a term for the Glasgow based carbonated soft drink "Irn Bru" or any other carbonated soft drink (A bottle o ginger [ə boʔl ə 'dʒɪndʒər]). Then there are words whose meaning has no obvious relationship to that in standard English: coupon means "face", via "to punch a ticket coupon". A headbutt is known in many parts of Britain as a "Glasgow kiss".
A speaker of Glaswegian might refer to those originating from the Scottish Highlands and the Western Isles as teuchters, while they would reciprocate by referring to Glaswegians as keelies. A (rather old-fashioned) Glaswegian insult is hieland, which means "awkward" and is Scots for "Highland". Example: that wean's got an awfu hieland wey o haudin that spuin meaning "that child has a very awkward way of holding that spoon".
The long-running TV drama Taggart and the comedies; Chewin' the Fat, Rab C. Nesbitt and Still Game capture the essence of the Glaswegian patois, while Billy Connolly has made Glaswegian humour known to the rest of the world.
Glasgow is also a major education centre with four universities within 10 miles (16 km) of the city centre:
There are also teacher training colleges, teaching hospitals such as the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow School of Art, and ten other further education colleges. The University of Glasgow is a member of the Russell Group of elite British universities[37] and is a founding member of the organisation Universitas 21,[38] an international grouping of universities dedicated to setting world-wide standards for higher education.
The University of Strathclyde is a founding member of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities: a consortium of research universities focussed on collaboration in innovative teaching and learning, enhancement of university-society interaction, internationalisation of the student and staff experience, and active engagement in policy development and practice within the evolving European Higher Education Area.[39] The University of Strathclyde and The University of Warwick are the only two British Universities who are members.
Glasgow is home to a student population in excess of 168,000, the largest in Scotland and second largest in the United Kingdom, the majority of them living in the West End of the city.[40]
The world's first international football match held in 1872 at the West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in the Partick area of the city. The match, between Scotland and England finished 0–0.
Glasgow is one of only three cities (Liverpool in 1985 and Madrid in 1986) to have had two football teams competing in European finals in the same season: in 1967 Celtic were in the European Cup final while at the same time Rangers were in the now defunct Cup Winners' Cup final.
The city is home to Scotland's largest football stadia: Celtic Park (60,832 seats), Ibrox Stadium (51,082 seats) and Hampden Park (52,670 seats), which is Scotland's national football stadium. Hampden Park holds the European record for attendance at a football match: 149,547[41] saw Scotland beat England 3-1 in 1937, in the days before British stadia became all-seated.
Glasgow has three professional football clubs: Celtic and Rangers, together known by some as the Old Firm, and Partick Thistle. A fourth club, Queen's Park, is an amateur club that plays in the Scottish professional league system. Prior to this, Glasgow had five other professional clubs: Clyde, which moved to Cumbernauld, plus Third Lanark, Cambuslang F.C, Cowlairs F.C. and Clydesdale F.C., who all went bankrupt. There are a number of Scottish Junior Football Association clubs within the city as well, such as Pollok, Maryhill, Ashfield and Petershill, as well as countless numbers of amateur teams.
The history of football in the city, as well as the status of the Old Firm, attracts many visitors to football matches in the city throughout the season. Hampden Park and Ibrox have been awarded UEFA 5 star status, meaning that they are capable of hosting the final of the Champions' League. Hampden Park has hosted the final on three occasions, most recently in 2002 and hosted the UEFA Cup Final in 2007. The Scottish Football Association, the national governing body, and the Scottish Football Museum are based in Glasgow, as are the Scottish Football League, Scottish Premier League, Scottish Junior Football Association and Scottish Amateur Football Association. The Glasgow Cup was a once popular tournament, were all professional teams from the city would compete, however, now only Junior teams do.
| Club | Sport | League | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic | Association Football | Scottish Premier League | Celtic Park | 60,832 |
| Partick Thistle | Association Football | Scottish Football League | Firhill Stadium | 10,887 |
| Queen's Park | Association Football | Scottish Football League | Hampden Park | 52,670 |
| Rangers | Association Football | Scottish Premier League | Ibrox Stadium | 51,082 |
Glasgow has a professional rugby union club, the Glasgow Warriors, which plays in the Celtic League alongside teams from Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
In the Scottish League, Glasgow Hawks was formed in 1997 by the merger of two of Glasgow's oldest clubs: Glasgow Academicals and Glasgow 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. Cartha Queens Park, on the south side of Glasgow, have risen through the lower leagues to play in the second division despite not having a former pupils system or links to a private school.
Major international sporting arenas include the Kelvin Hall and Scotstoun 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.
The Braehead Arena is home to leading professional basketball team, the Scottish Rocks, who compete in the British Basketball League. The arena was also host to the 2000 World Curling Championships.
Smaller sporting facilities include an abundance of outdoor playing fields, as well as golf clubs such as Hagg's Castle and artificial ski slopes. Between 1998 and 2004, the Scottish Claymores American football team played some or all of their home games each season at Hampden Park and the venue also hosted World Bowl XI. Motorcycle speedway racing was first introduced to Glasgow in 1928 and is currently staged at Saracen Park in the North of the city.
Befitting its strong Highland connections as the City of the Gael Baile Mòr nan Gà idheal, Glasgow is also one of five places in Scotland which hosts the final of the Scottish Cup of Shinty, better known as the Camanachd 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, as well as two university sides from Strathclyde University and Glasgow University.
Glasgow is currently bidding to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014. It would be based around a number of existing and new-built sporting venues across the city, including a refurbished Hampden Park, Kelvingrove Park, the Kelvin Hall and the planned Scottish National Arena at the SECC. A Commonwealth Games campus is planned for Dalmarnock and Parkhead in the East End of the city, which will include a new indoor arena, velodrome and accommodation facilities, with an upgraded Aquatics Centre at nearby Tollcross Park. This is Glasgow's first bid for the Games, and, if successful, would be Scotland's third Games.[42]
Glasgow has a long history of supporting socialist ideas and politics. The city council has been controlled by the Labour Party for 30 years, after the decline of the Progressives. Its socialist roots emanate from the city's days as an industrial powerhouse, and endure through the relative poverty of many Glaswegians. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and the Easter Rising, the city's frequent strikes and revolutionary fervour caused serious alarm at Westminster, with one uprising in January 1919 prompting the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George to deploy 10,000 troops and tanks onto the city's streets. A huge demonstration in the city's George Square on January 31 ended in violence after the Riot Act was read.
Later, industrial action at the shipyards gave rise to the "Red Clydeside" tag. During the 1930s, Glasgow was the main base of the Independent Labour Party. Towards the end of the 20th century it became a centre of the struggle against the poll tax, and then the main base of the Scottish Socialist Party, a left wing party in Scotland.
The Glasgow electoral region of the Scottish Parliament covers the Glasgow City council area, the Rutherglen area of the South Lanarkshire and a small eastern portion of Renfrewshire. It elects ten of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituency members and seven of the 56 additional members. Both kinds of member are known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The system of election is designed to produce a form of proportional representation.
The first past the post seats were created in 1999 with the names and boundaries of then existing Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies. In 2005, however, the number of Westminster Members of Parliament (MPs) representing Scotland was cut to 59, with new constituencies being formed, while the existing number of MSPs was retained at Holyrood.
The ten Scottish Parliament constituencies in the Glasgow electoral region are:-
Following reform of constituencies of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament (Westminster) in 2005, which reduced the number of Scottish Members of Parliament (MPs), the current Westminster constituencies representing Glasgow are:-
Glasgow is the largest and most dynamic economy in Scotland and is at the hub of the metropolitan area of West Central Scotland. The city itself sustains more than 410,000 jobs in over 12,000 companies. Over 153,000 jobs have been created in the city since 2000 - a growth rate of 32%.[43] Glasgow's annual economic growth rate of 4.4% is now second only to that of London. In 2005 alone over 17,000 new jobs were created, and 2006 saw private-sector investment in the city reaching £4.2 billion pounds, an increase of 22% in a single year.[44] The city has outstripped many of its European rivals in terms of economic growth. 55% of the residents in the Greater Glasgow area commute to the city every day. Once dominant Manufacturing industries such as shipbuilding and heavy engineering have been gradually replaced in importance by a modern mixed economy, supported by public and private investment and a skilled workforce.[45]
Glasgow's economy is now dominated by key tertiary sector industries such as financial and business services, communications, biosciences, creative industries, healthcare, higher education, retail and tourism. Between 1998 and 2001, the city's financial services sector grew at a rate of 30%, making considerable gains on Edinburgh, which has historically been the centre of the Scottish financial sector.[46][47]
The city retains a strong link to the manufacturing sector which forms the fourth largest manufacturing centre in the UK, accounting for well over 60% of Scotland's manufactured exports, with particular strengths in shipbuilding, engineering, food and drink, printing, publishing, chemicals and textiles as well as new growth sectors such as optoelectronics, software development and biotechnology. Glasgow forms the western part of the Silicon Glen high tech sector of Scotland. A growing number of Blue Chip financial sector companies have significant operations or headquarters in the city, including; Abbey, National Australia Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, AXA, Aviva, Standard Life, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays Bank and Lloyds TSB. These names rub shoulders with other well established firms operating in the city, which represent other sectors of Glasgow's economy, including; Diageo, William Grant & Sons, Pernod Ricard, Whyte & Mackay,[48] Tennent Caledonian Breweries, AG Barr, Trespass[49], MacFarlane Group[50], SMG, Halcrow, John Menzies, BAE Systems, Thales, Alstom, Linn, Rolls-Royce, Albion Automotive, Corus, British Energy, Scottish Power, Thus, Centrica, First Group, Loganair, Flyglobespan, Imperial Chemical Industries, Armitage Shanks, Jacobs Engineering Group, Norit[51], Weir Group, Babcock, Balfour Beatty, Arup, AMEC, and Aggreko Engineering. Glasgow-based Scottish Power is one of five Scottish companies to be included on the Fortune Global 500 rankings.[52]
Major corporate developments have helped promote its reputation as a leading European centre for business and commerce. [53]
Glasgow is the second most popular foreign tourist destination in Scotland and the UK's second largest retail centre. Glasgow is also one of Europe's sixteen largest financial centres and is home to many of Scotland's leading businesses, forming an integral part of the British economy.
Glasgow has a large urban transportation system, mostly managed by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).
The city has many bus services; since bus deregulation almost all are provided by private operators but SPT part-funds some services.
Glasgow has the most extensive urban rail network in the UK outside of London with rail services travelling to a large part of the West of Scotland. All trains running within Scotland, including the local Glasgow trains, are operated by First ScotRail, who own the franchise as determined by the Scottish Executive. Central Station and Queen Street Station are the two main railway terminals, providing train services to the rest of the United Kingdom.
The city's suburban network is currently divided by the River Clyde, and an initiative has been proposed to link them; it is currently awaiting funding from the Scottish Executive. The city is linked to Edinburgh by three direct railway links; a further one, the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link, is proposed for completion in 2010.
As well as the suburban rail network, SPT runs UK's only completely underground metro system, the small, one-line Glasgow Subway.
As part of the wider regeneration along the banks of the River Clyde, a Pre-Tram System, initially using Guided Buses, called Clyde Fastlink is currently planned.
Ferries used to link opposite sides of the Clyde in Glasgow but they have been rendered near-obsolete, by bridges and tunnels including the Erskine Bridge, Kingston Bridge, and the Clyde Tunnel. The only remaining crossings are the Renfrew Ferry between Renfrew and Yoker, and the Kilcreggan Ferry in Inverclyde, both run by SPT but outwith the city boundary. The PS Waverley, the world's last operational sea-going paddle-steamer [54], provides services from Glasgow City Centre, mainly catering to the pleasure cruise market. A regular waterbus service links the City Centre with Braehead in Renfrewshire, some 30 minutes downstream. A seaplane service, connecting the city with destinations in Argyll and Bute is planned for 2007.[55] The only operational dock left in Glasgow operated by the Clyde Port Authority (Clydeport) is the King George V Dock, near Braehead. Most other facilities, such as Hunterston Ore Terminal are located in the deep waters of the Firth of Clyde, which together handle some 7.5 million tonnes of cargo each year.
The city is the focus of Scotland's trunk road network and has many road connections to other cities. The main M8 motorway passes through the city centre, and connects to the M77, M73, and M80 motorways. The A82 connects the city to Argyll and the western Highlands. The M74 runs directly south towards Carlisle; the highly controversial M74 completion scheme will extend the motorway from Tollcross into the Tradeston area to join the M8. A legal challenge to stop the extension was withdrawn in 2006, and the road is now scheduled for completion by 2010.
Other road proposals include the East End Regeneration Route, which aims to complete the Glasgow Inner Ring Road around the city and provide better access to deprived areas of the East End.
The city is served by two international airports: Glasgow International Airport (GLA) in Paisley, Renfrewshire (13 km west of the city) and Glasgow Prestwick International Airport (PIK) in Prestwick, Ayrshire (46 km to the south-west). There is also a small airfield at Cumbernauld (29 km to the north-east). It is anticipated that by 2009, both principal airports will be served by a direct rail link from Glasgow Central railway station on completion of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link project at Glasgow International Airport. On Saturday June 30th 2007, Glasgow airport suffered what appeared to be an attempted suicide car-bombing. One of the alleged would-be bombers was severely burned in the attack, and one member of the public suffered a broken leg, but there were no fatalities.[56](See: 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack)
