The end of the week marks the launch of the much-loved Irn Bru Carnival. The annual event takes over the city’s SEC, transforming the versatile venue into a flurry of lights, colours, and sounds.
Hundreds if not thousands of Glaswegians will descend on the fair from December 22 until January 14 in an event that has become synonymous with Christmas time, being off school and for people of all ages to enjoy being a kid.
While not always held in the SEC and known as the Irn Bru Carnival, this yearly tradition has been a cemented part of Glasgow’s social calendar for over 100 years.
The carnival’s origins date back to 1919, when it was created for the people of Glasgow to have an uplifting experience after the First World War. In those days, visitors were entertained with classic games such as hook a duck, the coconut shy and the dodgems.
Before the days of the SEC, the carnival was held in the city’s Kelvin Hall. Wholly impressive in its own right, the West End hall’s ‘CV’ is something to be marvelled at. When it wasn’t used for carnival, it has been home to a clothing store, flower show, museum and more recently, a state-of-the-art television studio.
Some of the world’s biggest stars have performed at this venue, from Ella Fitzgerald to Elton John. The Kinks once released a live recording of their 1967 performance, Live at Kelvin Hall, and for many seasons it was the home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s Proms.
During the Second World War, Kelvin Hall was used as a factory for barrage and convoy balloons. But when the war ended, the festivities and fun were back and bigger than ever as the carnival reopened in 1947 as a mammoth six-week show.
A large focus of this dynamic new event was the circus, now famous in Glasgow’s history books. It’s incredible to think when we visit the Irn Bru Carnival today that not too long ago our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents enjoyed the same concept but with elephants, lions and tigers.
This all accompanied the dozens of rides and attractions on offer, but the circus aspect was stopped in 1985 when the venue was changed. Kelvin Hall was set to become the home of the Museum of Transport, and it would fulfil this role until 2011 when the Riverside Museum was built.
A popular concert venue and event space, Finnieston’s SEC has been the carnival’s home since 1986 and since it became sponsored by Scotland’s favourite can of ginger.
Whether you’re going this year, or your last trip to the carnival was many moons ago; everyone in Glasgow has fond memories of the fair.
The sweet smell of freshly spun candy floss, the rise and fall of unified screams as the biggest thrill rides take an exhilarating dip, trying to eke out the cash your parents gave you at the beginning of the day and were urged ‘don’t spend it all at once’, and frittering away the last few coins on the penny falls machine.
What is your favourite memory of the Glasgow carnival?
