The Glasgow Garden Festival was the third of the five national garden festivals, and the only one to take place in Scotland. It was held in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

between 26 April and 26 September 1988. It was the first event of its type to be held in the city in 50 years, since the Empire Exhibition of 1938, and also marked the centenary of Glasgow's first International Exhibition, the International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry of 1888. It attracted 4.3 million visitors over 152 days, by far the most successful of the five National Garden Festivals. Its significance in the rebirth of the city was underlined by the 1990 European City of Culture title bestowed on Glasgow in September 1986. The two events together did much to restore Glasgow to national and international prominence.

The festival site

The festival site covered , including 17 of water, on the south bank of the River Clyde at Plantation Quay in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

, and also on land reclaimed from the partial filling-in of the Prince's Dock basin. Once the largest dock on the River Clyde when opened in 1900, it had been closed to navigation in the early 1970s with the advent of

Containerization Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the p ...

. Continuing businesses including Smith & McLean Galvanisers were now resited elsewhere in the city. Most of the docklands required had already been sold by Clydeport Authority to Laing Homes. To ensure a clear site the Scottish Development Agency and Glasgow City Council identified suitable off-set sites within the city which Laing Homes then purchased and promptly developed, relinquishing their ownership of the dockland site. The Festival was designed and built by the Scottish Development Agency after the necessary industrial dismantling and site-clearing. The Agency also led the creation of the

Scottish Exhibition Centre The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest exhibition centre, locate ...

on the north bank of the Clyde, upon the site of the Queen's Dock. Glasgow Garden Festival 1988 Ltd., a subsidiary of the Scottish Development Agency, managed the public operation of the Festival. Coca-Cola Thrill Ride - geograph

Features included the high ''

Clydesdale Bank Clydesdale Bank ( gd, Banca Dhail Chluaidh) is a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in Scotland. In June 2018, it was announced that Clydesdale Bank's holding company CYBG would acquire Virgin Money for ...

150th Anniversary Tower'', the '' Coca-Cola Roller'' roller coaster, a miniature railway and five former

Glasgow Corporation Tramways Glasgow Corporation Tramways were formerly one of the largest urban tramway systems in Europe. Over 1000 municipally-owned trams served the city of Glasgow, Scotland, with over 100 route miles (160 route kilometres) by 1922. The system closed i ...

vintage trams running again in the city along the riverside. A new

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

, ''Bell's Bridge'', sponsored by the

Distillers Company The Distillers Company Limited was a leading Scottish drinks and pharmaceutical company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over by Guinness & Co. (now part of Diageo) in 1986 in a transaction which was later ...

, had been constructed across the river to link the Garden Festival to the SECC, which held the Grand International Show in its Hall 4 in conjunction with the festival. The official opening ceremony took place on 29 April and was conducted by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. The event had significant media coverage, including daily BBC TV magazine shows, ''

The Beechgrove Garden ''Beechgrove'' (formerly known as ''The Beechgrove Garden'') is a television programme broadcast since 1978 on BBC Scotland. Over the years it has been broadcast on BBC Scotland, BBC One Scotland, BBC Two Scotland and Britbox. History ''Beechg ...

'' and radio features, the festival was also used as a backdrop for the ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 Septembe ...

'' episode "Root of Evil" and an episode of the comedy show City Lights.

After the Garden Festival

After the end of the festival, the site was expected to be developed for commerce and leisure, with a small Festival Park retained. After a decade and more new developments started on the site, renamed

Pacific Quay Pacific Quay is an area south of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. It is located at the former Plantation Quay and Princes' Dock Basin. The Princes' Dock Basin was the largest on the River Clyde when it was opened by the Clyde Navigation T ...

. The

Glasgow Science Centre Glasgow Science Centre is a visitor attraction located in the Clyde Waterfront Regeneration area on the south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II opened Glasgow Science Centre on 5 July 2001. It is one of Scotland's ...

, substantially led by SDA with the City Council, Glasgow University and others, was built and close by the media campus and digital centres, which include new headquarters for BBC Scotland and

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is th ...

, opening in 2007. The Clydesdale Bank tower was dismantled and re-erected in

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd''). To the we ...

in North

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

; however, its spiritual successor came in the form of the Glasgow Millennium Tower as part of the Science Centre complex, which stands on approximately the same spot. Office premises and hotels have completed the development. In 2018 a number of events were held across Glasgow to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the festival. These included exhibitions at The Mitchell Library, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and a summer festival, The Glasgow Garden Wildlife Festival, led by RSPB Scotland and Glasgow City Council.

References

External links

Memories of the Garden FestivalViews of the Garden Festival with a narrationThe Glasgow StoryBBC: Your Pictures and Memories
{{coords, 55.855, -4.291, display=title 1988 in Scotland Buildings and structures in Glasgow Festivals in Glasgow Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland History of Glasgow National garden festivals 1980s in Glasgow Garden festivals in Scotland 1988 festivals Govan

The festival site

After the Garden Festival

See also

References

External links