West End Festival

– 1995 –

A crowd of 150 people attending a public meeting at Cottier  â€¨Theatre hear founder Michael Dale and local councillor Pat Chalmers  â€¨outline plans for a new festival in Glasgow. First office is at the Underground Café courtesy of Eric Cadenhead.

– 1996 –

Festival starts with one-week event in mid-June.  Main highlight is the  â€¨Midsummer Carnival on a sunlit day in the middle of Euro 96.  Cottier Theatre produces “Don Giovanni!” by Opera on a Shoestring.  Paintings on Railings starts at the Botanic Gardens.  Ashton Lane pedestrianised.  Fablevision perform outdoor play “Shukuntula” in Kelvingrove Park. Local Area committee gives first grant of £12,000.

– 1997 –

WEF’s second year and Mayfest’s 15th (and last).  Festival extended to two weeks. 16 page brochure. The Council recognises WEF with a grant of £25k. Opera on a Shoestring produce a sell-out “The Barber of Seville “. West End Walks programme starts. WEF’s first attempt at a free concert in the Park ends when Belle and Sebastian and the Bathers are rained off. “The Loveliest Night of the Year” reinstated at the Art Galleries.

– 1998 –

WEF takes over the former swimming pool at Church Street to be the  â€¨”Deep End Club”.  Second event is added as a free concert in Kelvingrove Park billed as “The Longest Day” with Teenage Fanclub. 10,000 attend. Opening Parade grows in appeal. CableTel first WEF sponsor.

– 1999 –

Glasgow is UK City of Architecture and Design and WEF promotes “The Ideal Hut Show” in the Botanic Gardens with George Wyllie and Neil Baxter Associates. WEF inaugurates the Shakespeare in the Gardens with free performances of “Love’s Labour’s Lost” produced by Flexible Deadlock. Cottier programme features Paul Young, Lee Hurst, Bruce Morton, Beverley Craven and Michael Marra with Liz Lochhead. WEF receives bad news from the VAT man, nearly forcing the closure of the festival.

– 2000 –

For year 5, the parade moves to the Opening Day and WEF gets a Millennium Commission grant for “Burn Gigantic” by Alex Rigg, a pagan spectacle in Kelvingrove Park.  The Stand Comedy club starts up in Woodlands.  “Titus Andronicus” is the Shakespeare in the Botanic Gardens, which is a sell-out.

– 2001 –

Over 200 events, including the third season of the Shakespeare in the Botanics. G1 Group, opening up venues in the west end, becomes the main festival sponsor. The Sunday Herald is the festival’s first media sponsor. The Liveliest Night of the Year kicks off the event at the Art Galleries, and the Council and police allow Byres Road to be closed for the first time to accommodate the Opening Parade and Street Party, resulting in a huge increase in attendance and the best parade yet. Acts appearing at the festival include Salsa Celtica, Kevin McDermott, Dougie Maclean, The Bathers, Paragon Ensemble, Laura Cantrell and Eddi Reader. The Japanese Embassy sponsors a day of music and culture as part of the UK Japan Festival, and WEF helps Glasgow City  Council to establish the Farmers’ Markets in Partick, leading to the event becoming permanent.  Friends of the West End Festival established.

– 2002 –

Scottish Arts Council agree a grant of £3k for the first time, but the big step forward is that Whyte and Mackay sponsor the Opening Parade and Street Party and 15 extra bands appear on the three stages in the street. The Council’s Library programme makes an appearance and two new mini festivals take place, Bloominglasgow (to mark Bloom’s Day) and the Children’s Author programme. The Shakespeare plays take on a life of their own under a new theatre company. Music includes James Grant, Karen Matheson, Zuba, Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain, and a full programme at Ashton Lane, especially at Bar Brel. Japanese Matsuri becomes an annual event.

– 2003 –

The first full-colour brochure is 32 pages long, with 270 events. The Opening Parade and Whyte and Mackay Street Party grows once more, and the University starts its Music Day with free performances. Return of Opera on a Shoestring to do a sell-out “Carmen” at Cottier.  SAC increase their grant to £5k. The Evening Times becomes the festival’s media sponsor with a significant increase in profile. The City of Glasgow Chorus mount their summer concert at the Bute Hall, used for the first time. WEF joins forces with the Alliance Francaise to start the Fete de la Musique. 

– 2004 –

WEF’s 9th year is a significant step up. The first weekend sees the opening of Oran Mor, a free concert by Belle and Sebastian on the Saturday, and the Whyte and Mackay Street Party on the Sunday.  The B and S enterprise is rewarded with a sunny day and 12,000 people crammed into the sylvan splendour of the Botanic Gardens. The Parade is attended by another huge crowd with a record number of 22 live acts on the stages. The brochure expands to take in the rise in festival events - nearly 450. A very strong music programme, split between Oran Mor, Cottier and Brel.  Appearances by Capercaillie, Eliza Carthy, Bert Jansch, Kate Rusby, Martin Carthy, Brian Kennedy, Karen Dunbar, the Incredible String Band, the Vatersay Boys and Martin Taylor.

– 2005 –

G1 Group replace Whyte and Mackay as sponsors of the Street Party.  Cottier Theatre, the Kibble Palace and the Art Galleries are all closed for refurbishment. Despite this, the number of events is high at 350, and the brochure grows to 48 pages with 80,000 copies printed. Ten years successfully negotiated!

– 2006 –

A major outdoor community play “The life of Jesus” with 60 actors, horses and a donkey draws crowds.  G1 Group is the festival sponsor.  A postcode survey of 2073 ticket buyers reveals that WEF appeals to a public far beyond Glasgow. 50.7% come from Glasgow city, 25.4% come from the surrounding area (Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire, Renfrew etc) and 21.7% come from elsewhere in Scotland.  2% come from England. 

– 2007 –

The main festival sponsor is Corona.  This is the year the Globe Theatre bring their Romeo and Juliet to the University Quadrangle for a week of sell-out performances. The Council gives a last-minute grant to help secure the Street Party in Byres Road.    

– 2008 –

A record number of events: 445 in 38 venues, and an attendance of 137,600 for the paid and free events.   Poor June weather sees outdoor events affected, however. 

– 2009 –

A difficult year for many as the recession bites, and WEF is no exception. The Council tell WEF to raise money through commercial means which brings the Scottish Sun and SPT as sponsors. Byres Road is not closed for the first time in 9 years due to costs and the Mardi Gras is relocated to Kelvingrove Park. A huge crowd turns out on a sunny day, and the event is still adjudged a great success. 

– 2010 –

A record number of events (460) and venues (88) and festival extended to 3 weeks. Festival sponsor is Waitrose. Festival Sunday in Kelvingrove Park is again the biggest event in the festival, and the biggest event in Glasgow with 90,000 people attending. Gibson Street Gala attracts 25,000 in glorious sunshine.

– 2011 –

Another record number of events (650) and venues testifies to WEF';s ever-growing status. Sadly, Scotland has one of the coldest and wettest Junes on record, forcing some outdoor events to be cancelled, but this doesn’t stop the overall Festival being another city-wide success. Main success is the series of 23 chamber music concerts in a temporarily re-opened Cottier Theatre with almost every professional ensemble in Scotland playing. Excellent reviews and support from Creative Scotland, plus various trusts such as the Foyle Foundation, W M Mann, Hugh Fraser Foundation and Enterprise Music Scotland give encouragement for the future.