GLASGOW 2014 FESTIVAL 2014 VENUES
216.282 mm 216.282 mm
GETTING IN THE ZONE
Festival 2014, the Games-time cultural celebration, will be focussed in 4 locations across the city. David Pollock rounds up what’s happening where
GLASGOW GREEN LIVE ZONE MERCHANT CITY FESTIVAL
One of Glasgow’s most iconic city parks will be transformed into a huge home for the duration of the Games. The Living Room hosts the main stage, with themed days celebrating the music of Commonwealth Cultures (Thu 24 Jul), Glasgow’s folk and world festival Celtic Connections (Fri 25 Jul), the cross-cultural sound of Scotland at Mela on the Green (Wed 30 Jul) and the city’s proud history of indie and alternative music at the Chemikal Underground-curated Glasgow Mix Tape (Sat 2 Aug). There will also be storytelling and chat in the spiegeltent Playhouse, daily kids’ events in The Wee House, sports tasters in The Back Garden and a celebration of Scottish produce in The Kitchen (see preview, page 43). ■ Thu 24 Jul to Sun 3 Aug. The annual city centre festival will be bigger and better in its 13th year as part of the ofi cial Festival 2014 line-up, with a range of performances and events in some of the area’s best venues and on purpose-built outdoor stag es. Among the highlights will be a range of street theatre from around the world, including Scotland’s street arts festival Surge, outdoor play area Scotch Hoppers in the Family Zone and the multi-coloured Laberint II maze, while Merchant Square will host the Dance Stage and the Vintage Hair and Beauty Salon. There will also be a range of family and fashion-based events, while this area is also home to the Old Fruitmarket, information hub of Festival 2014 and host to the late-night Festival 2014 Club. ■ Wed 23 Jul to Sun 3 Aug.
FESTIVAL 2014 SAT 19 JUL –SUN 3 AUG
KELVINGROVE BANDSTAND Restored and brought back to life following its closure 15 years ago due to disrepair, this outdoor amphitheatre in the West End will welcome a host of music, performance, i lm, family and comedy events. The highlight looks sure to be the i rst performance in Glasgow in a number of years by Belle & Sebastian (Wed 23 Jul), while other local musical luminaries appearing over the fortnight include James Yorkston, Remember Remember, Roddy Hart and the Lonesome Fire, and the Parsonage Orchestra. There will also be screenings of classic Scottish i lms, comedy from Fred MacAulay, Jo Cauli eld and Phil Nichol, and a literature event with Alan Bissett, Christopher Brookmyre and Denise Mina. ■ Wed 23 Jul to Sun 3 Aug.
BBC AT THE QUAY
The open-air plaza between BBC Scotland’s headquarters and the Glasgow Science Centre on the south side of the Clyde will turn into a free 16-day festival space over the course of the Commonwealth Games, with food, drink, live Games coverage, exclusive music and comedy performances and a range of live broadcasts. The latter includes The One Show, Radio 2’s Ken Bruce show and various Radio 1, Radio 3, Radio 5Live and 1Xtra broadcasts, while there will be stage versions of A Question of Sport, Mastermind and various CBBC and CBeebies favourites and live appearances from Texas, Simple Minds, Paloma Faith and Amy Macdonald. See bbc.co.uk/thequay for details of ticketed events. ■ Sat 19 Jul to Sun 3 Aug. 10 Jul–21 Aug 2014 THE LIST 21