The Glasgow Garden Festival was the first international event to be held in Glasgow in over 50 years following the Empire Exhibition in 1938 and arguably marked a turning point in the fortunes of the biggest city in Scotland. With substantial investment in the event, the Festival signalled a rebirth of the city from a historically industrial city to a hub of culture with Glasgow being named as the European City of Culture in 1990.
If you visited, you may remember the Coca Cola rollercoaster and the Clydesdale Bank tower. Here we take a look back at he hugely successful Garden Festival, which attracted over 4 million visitors to the city, making the Glasgow event the most popular of the five Garden Festivals held across the UK.
1. The Big Yin takes off
Glasgow actor and comedian Billy Connolly, TV journalist Selina Scott and Scottish Secretary George Younger in a hot-air balloon to help the Scottish Development Agency launch the Glasgow Garden Festival 1988 campaign in London. Photo: Allan Milligan
2. The brochure for the Garden Festival
Diana and Charles featured on the brochure for the Garden Festival (Pic: Glasgow City Archives)
3. The tram!
The tram was specially installed to link the entrance of the exhibition to the centre. It was one of the most popular installations from the festival and was a great photoshoot opportunity for visitors.(Pic:Glasgow City Archives)
4. A teeny steam train
A train pulled by a steam engine took visitors around the Glasgow Garden Festival in April 1988 Photo: TSPL