Glasgow Life confirms 2025 Summer of Events programme
Glasgow Life has unveiled a thrilling 2025 Summer of Events programme which will bring top local, national and international artists, musicians and performers to Glasgow!
Article Source: Glasgow Life
Last Updated: 23 April 2025 9:17
Image Credit: Kris Kesiak
The city will once again be home to plenty of free and low-cost cultural and family-friendly entertainment when the Glasgow Mela, Merchant City Festival and World Pipe Band Championships return between June and August.
Glasgow Life, the charity that leads culture and sport in Glasgow, will launch its Summer of Events with the ever-popular Mela in Kelvingrove Park on Sunday 22 June.
The Mela is Glasgow’s multicultural music, dance and arts festival and is free for all to enjoy. Festival goers can expect first-class performances by Glaswegian, Scottish and overseas acts, including Gtown Desi, Saloni and Maya Lakhani.
The Mela also features food from around the world and gives people a chance to play a mix of sports like tennis, pickleball, kabaddi and volleyball.
During the event, Kelvingrove Bandstand will host various panel discussions and workshops. The topics include health and wellbeing through the arts, music and memory and South Asian artists in experimental practices.
The bandstand will also stage a collaboration with Glasgow Life Museums’ Intercultural Youth Group. The programme will build on the Scottish-Asian Creative Artists’ Network’s aim to raise and discuss key issues within and for South Asian communities through the Mela.
Glasgow’s Summer of Events will continue when the Merchant City Festival brings its special blend of arts, circus, dance, live music and more to the streets and venues of the Merchant City from Friday 18 July to Sunday 20 July.
Image Credit: Kris Kesiak
Merchant City Festival event sponsors Merchant Square and The Social Hub will be among the facilities featuring activities and performances from Scotland’s children’s theatre agency Imaginate, leading outdoor arts agency Surge Festival and Bridgeman Arts.
Among the shows set to wow audiences at this year’s festival is Follow Me, a performance which follows two urban acrobats on a surprising and interactive journey through the Merchant City. Scotland’s own Dudendance will present Alien Species, featuring spectacular costumes that can be shed, shaped and transformed by the wind.
This Merchant City Festival will also include shows by Four Nations bursary acts, newly created by street performers from Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.
The 2025 Merchant City Festival will launch with a mass participation ceilidh as part of the Glasgow 850 programme celebrating the 850 years since the city gained Burgh status in 1175. Festivalgoers will again be able to look round its famous markets and food stalls which stock various eye-catching items and delicious delicacies.
Glasgow’s Summer of Events will sign off in sensational style with the World Pipe Band Championships on Glasgow Green on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 August.
Image Credit: Alan Harvey (SNS)
Scotland’s biggest week of bagpipes, Piping Live!, is also being held in Glasgow this year. The festival will run from Monday 11 August to Sunday 17 August.
The World Pipe Band Championships pit the best pipers and drummers on the planet against one another in a bid to be named World Champions. The 2024 competitive piping spectacular starred 204 bands from 13 countries, with more than 7,000 pipers and drummers taking to the field.
Tickets for the 2025 World Pipe Band Championships will go on sale in May. Visit www.theworlds.co.uk for more information.
Billy Garrett, Director of Culture, Tourism and Events at Glasgow Life, said: “There is a lot to get excited about in Glasgow this summer, with the Mela, Merchant City Festival and World Pipe Band Championships promising fantastic days out and a chance to make unforgettable memories with family and friends. Our Summer of Events programme is central to the city’s cultural events calendar and helps to improve people’s mental, physical and economic wellbeing by offering something fun for everyone to enjoy.”
To stay up to date with Glasgow’s Summer of Events, subscribe to the Glasgow Life newsletter.
The Glasgow Mela and Merchant City Festival formed two of seven successful Creative Scotland Multi-Year Funding 2025-28 applications made by Glasgow Life.
Creative Scotland confirmed on 30 January 2025 it has awarded the Mela £50,000 for 2025-26. In total, the event will benefit from £169,100 of Creative Scotland funding over the next three years. This year’s Merchant City Festival will receive £62,834 from Creative Scotland and £227,167 in total between 2025 and 2028.
Sponsored Links
Latest Glasgow News
Calling all runners... grab a FREE post race drink from Flight Club Glasgow
Flight Club is inviting Glasgow AJ Bell Great Scottish Run participants to celebrate their incredible effort with a complimentary drink on Sunday 5th October!
READ MORE
Flight Club is giving out hundreds of prizes on the streets of Glasgow in October
The team behind the home of Social Darts is embarking on a nationwide charity tour in celebration of its 10th birthday and dishing out treats to its fans along the way!
READ MORE
GlasGLOW adds extra week after 35,000 tickets snapped up in days
City's biggest Halloween show extended as nostalgia-fuelled 'Miles Better' theme takes Glasgow by storm, with new dates on sale on Wednesday 17th September at 7.30am!
READ MORE
Wedding venue Crossbasket Castle unveils exquisite new menu curated by Michelin starred chef Michel Roux
Scotland's premier five-star luxury wedding destination, Crossbasket Castle, has unveiled a new decadent wedding menu crafted exclusively by world-renowned Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux.
READ MORE
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduate joins full cast of Death on the Nile at the Theatre Royal
The full cast has been announced for Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile which comes to the Theatre Royal Glasgow in February.
READ MORE
Spooky season returns to town with the announcement of Paisley Halloween Festival 2025
Paisley Halloween Festival will return to town next month to celebrate the spooky season with a packed programme of frightful fun for all the family!
READ MORE
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival returns for its 12th edition
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival returns for its 12th edition on the big screen in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Inverness from 1st to 19th October 2025.
READ MORE
Matilda the Musical comes to Glasgow for the first time
The Royal Shakespeare Company's smash hit production of Matilda The Musical, based on Roald Dahl's beloved book, will come to Glasgow for the very first time in 2026!
READ MORE
Cineworld 4DX Rewind returns for 2025
Cineworld is excited to announce the return of 4DX Rewind this September across Cineworld 4DX cinemas nationwide!
READ MORE
A jewellery store in Glasgow Fort is doubling in size following investment
Family-owned national diamond, jewellery and watch retailer, Beaverbrooks, is doubling the size of its Glasgow Fort store with a £1.3m investment.
READ MORE
Forget a boring beige Christmas in Glasgow...
This festive season at SWG3, Bongo's Bingo is transporting everyone back to the time where coloured tree lights and flammable tinsel ruled supreme!
READ MORE
Final countdown to the AJ Bell Great Scottish Run 2025 is on
Scotland's greatest running event, the AJ Bell Great Scottish Run, will return to Glasgow next month, and there’s still time to secure your place.
READ MORE
Popular Sunday BBQ returns to Glasgow favourite Sebbs
One of Glasgow's favourites is flipping the idea of a traditional roast on its head with the return of its Sunday BBQ later this month.
READ MORE
Marstons and Tom Shepherd join forces once more to serve up the best ever pub pie
Marston's and Michelin-starred chef Tom Shepherd have teamed up once more to serve up The Best Ever Pub Pie to locals across the country.
READ MORE
Edinburgh Fringe smash hit Oran embarks on first UK tour
Òran, the award-winning sell-out hit of the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe embarks on its first ever UK tour this autumn as company Wonder Fools take their work to a host of venues across Scotland.
READ MORE
SOAPYFEST raises thousands for Beatson Cancer Charity and Marie Curie
The Barrowland Ballroom was filled with love, laughter, and music as friends, family and supporters came together for SOAPYFEST, raising over £18K in support of Beatson Cancer Charity and Marie Curie
READ MORE
M&Ds teams up with Zombie Infection for a heart pounding, live action horror attraction
M&D's is set to transform into Scotland's Scream Park with the launch of Zombie Checkpoint, a live action immersive horror experience creating a heart racing adventure not for the faint hearted.
READ MORE
Topgolf Glasgow launches new field goal challenge game this autumn
Topgolf Glasgow is bringing a taste of the gridiron to Scotland this autumn with the launch of its brand-new Field Goal Challenge game.
READ MORE
GlasGLOW sells over 20,000 tickets in first hour as fans rush to relive 80s magic
GlasGLOW fever has gripped Glasgow once again, with more than 20,000 tickets for this year's GlasGLOW's Miles Better show snapped up within just 60 minutes of being released.
READ MORE
Iconic films to take centre stage at Vue venues in Scotland
Iconic movies celebrating key milestones this year are returning to Vue for a limited run - including Steven Spielberg classic Jaws.
READ MORE
20 expert sessions at The Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show
The Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show will be packed with expert speakers when it returns to the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston on 4th – 5th October 2025.
READ MORE
A Taste of Loch Lomond Book launches with live cooking demo at the Loch Lomond Food & Drink Festival
Love Loch Lomond will officially launch its new publication, A Taste of Loch Lomond – Stories and Flavours from the Bonnie Banks, at the Loch Lomond Food & Drink Festival on Sunday 7th September.
READ MORE
Even more acts added to Tenement Trail 2025, set to take over the East End on Saturday 11th October
Multi-venue music festival taking over Glasgow's East End this October confirms Dead Pony and 14 new acts!
READ MORE
2025 Aye Write programme announced as tickets go on sale for annual book festival
Tickets will go on sale for Aye Write, Glasgow's long-established and much-loved book festival, at 11am today.
READ MORE
Seriously fun ideas for your work Christmas Party
It might only be September, but the C-word is not too far away, so it's time to start thinking about planning the annual office Christmas shindig before everything gets booked up!
READ MORE
Birds Fried Chicken launches collaboration series with Corner Shop
Birds Fried Chicken is taking its signature Southern-style fried chicken out of its natural Shawlands habitat and into new, unexpected settings with the launch of Rare Birds!
READ MORE
Buchanan Galleries champions Zero Waste Week with retailer initiatives for conscious consumers
Buchanan Galleries is marking Zero Waste Week (1 – 5 September 2025) by showcasing the centre's wide range of sustainable retail initiatives!
READ MORE
Business Gateway launches its first ever Scottish Start Up Month
Business Gateway, Scotland's national business support service, has launched Scottish Start-Up Month, a nationwide campaign to celebrate Scotland's entrepreneurial spirit.
READ MORE
Pop up play town brings big imaginations to little ones
A new role-play experience is popping up in community venues across Greater Glasgow this month bringing pint-sized professions and plenty of pretend fun to preschoolers and their families.
READ MORE
Local musicians to perform at outdoor charity concert at Nostrana restaurant
Summer may be over, but music festival season is still here, with an exciting outdoor concert in aid of Mary's Meals taking place in Glasgow's West End on Sunday 7th September.
READ MORESponsored Links
Sponsored Links