11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Glasgow should copy Barcelona when putting on big concert
Sting, Simple Minds and Stereophonics will all follow over the next seven days.
TRNSMT festival will then take place in Glasgow Green during July, but the events can cause disruption for the local community, with complaints about parks being damaged in recent years.
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Cllr Jon Molyneux, co-leader of the city's Green group, said: 'Big events bring people into Glasgow and support our global reputation as a city of music.
'But having to rely on Glasgow Green and Bellahouston Park to host them does have an impact on citizens who have huge swathes of their parks fenced off for weeks at a time and then have areas that are badly damaged afterwards.
'Bellahouston is also slap bang in the middle of a residential area and the events put big strain on public transport as well as dozens of road closures.'
He thinks Glasgow should look to Barcelona where the popular Primavera Sound is held at Parc del Forum — which was created for the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures and has since hosted many events and festivals. Land around the SEC could be used, he suggested.
Cllr Molyneux, whose Pollokshields ward covers Bellahouston Park, highlighted how the events space in Barcelona has dedicated bus and tram connections.
'It is in a purpose-built space which combines both indoor and outdoor venues that are able to support a wide variety of events all year round,' he said.
'Something similar could be done using the land around the SEC, including its massive surface car park, all the way up to the Riverside Museum.
'If not there, then Glasgow is not exactly short of unused land, some of which is not suitable for building on, and this could also be integrated into plans for Clyde Metro.
'If we believe parks should serve local communities as well as wanting to keep Glasgow on the musical map, I think this is something the council and city partners should give consideration to.'
