The European Heritage Hub is coming to Glasgow’s 850th anniversary party – and you’re invited too

Annette Christie, Glasgow City Convenor for Culture, Sport and International Relations and Chair of Glasgow Life, shares the city’s 850th anniversary plans, emphasising inclusivity, sustainability, and creativity. Glasgow, known for cultural vibrancy, will hosted the European Heritage Hub, spotlighting innovation and community projects, reflecting its dedication to cultural diversity and heritage preservation

Everyday concerns like rising food and fuel costs, access to affordable housing, and the general cost of living crisis seem to have been sidelined, while even more existential crises like climate change and ecological emergencies are put on the back burner.

Instead, we have seen some political parties inflame campaigns with othering when people simply seek to belong. Social divisions have been stoked by culture wars making the safeguarding of democracy even more critical.

As Glasgow gears up to celebrate a big birthday in 2025, with the 850th anniversary of gaining its city charter, we are taking a different approach. Everyone who has or does call Glasgow home is invited to the party.

We aim to create a yearlong, inclusive citywide programme of events and activities that reflect on how the city has transformed, particularly over the last fifty years and how we can inspire accelerated change for a better, sustainable future over the next fifty years.

A timeline of milestones

We will celebrate key milestone years. In 1975, for example, the UK went to the polls to vote on whether we would remain in the European community. Glasgow voted to remain; as our city and the rest of Scotland did again overwhelmingly in the 2016 Brexit Referendum. I believe a key factor in this was Glasgow being crowned the first UK European Capital of Culture in 1990. The European Commission and other cities still consider this year the definitive Cultural Capital.

Known as the Glasgow Miracle, 1990 European Capital of Culture is an uncontested milestone year. However, the ‘miracle’ title is very much a misnomer. 1990 merely spotlighted the vibrant cultural ecosystem that already thrived in the city and provided more oxygen and sunlight for our artists to flourish.

A key element of the European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage is the European Commission Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor. The 2019 report looked at 190 cities from across 30 European countries and ranked 29 distinct aspects of a city’s cultural health, including its cultural vibrancy, creative economy and ability to attract creative talent and stimulate cultural engagement.

The report states: “Glasgow was one of the first European Capitals of Culture, in 1990. Known as an industrial city, it has now gained recognition as a creative and cultural centre of European importance.”

The Commission named Glasgow as the UK’s top cultural and creative city. As befits the city’s ‘People Make Glasgow’ slogan, the report also ranked Glasgow as Europe’s leader for ‘openness, tolerance and trust.’

Our anniversary celebrations in 2025 are underpinned by these values, and this is why I was delighted that the first key event after last month’s public launch of ‘Glasgow 850’ was welcoming the European Heritage Hub to our city.

What is the European Heritage Hub?

The Hub is an EU-funded pilot project run by a consortium of 20 partners led by Europa Nostra, Europeana Foundation, and the Eurocities network. Its goal is to bring together heritage stakeholders and initiatives across Europe to support the transition towards a more sustainable, digital, and inclusive society.

Glasgow was chosen as one of 10 leading cities for innovative practices in this triple transformation and, in addition, was selected to host the first of three peer knowledge exchanges.

What will this mean for Glasgow?

The visit centred on Pollok Park. Voted 2008 Best Park in Europe, it is home to The Burrell Collection – the 2024 European Museum of the Year nominee and 2023 UK Art Fund Museum of the Year winner.

Heritage experts from the four corners of Europe learned about its refurbishment, which involved not only up-to-date environmental and digital solutions but also local communities in co-designing and co-curating the collection.

Another site visit was Pollok Park Sawmill and Stables which is being transformed into a net-zero carbon “Living” Heritage Centre. The proposed community and visitor attraction will be based around the famous Clydesdale Horses to tell the story of the transition from traditional power generation to modern renewable technologies.

The Hub visit was a great opportunity to demonstrate and experience Glasgow’s tangible and intangible heritage. From the urban and rural, built and natural environments we showcased everything that makes us distinctively Glaswegian and Scottish, and also unarguably European. Experts from across Europe were able to confer and explore the role of innovation to better preserve shared cultural heritage for future generations.

Preserving Europe’s cultural diversity and ensuring access to culture was a common priority among all the visitors, closely linked with notions of heritage, identity, and values. As much as Glasgow showcased its innovation, we are committed to ongoing learning from other European friends and neighbours.

Glasgow has always been a city of imagination and invention, and that was illustrated for the European Hub delegates with a particular focus on our community-led regeneration projects, of which The Burrell Collection is an exemplar.  Glasgow is also a city of re-imagination and re-invention, and as any progress is impossible with change, we are clear that it is vital for our city’s future to have open and inclusive conversations. If we are to reinvent the city through the triple transformation then we must collectively change some hearts and minds.

During the visit, Glasgow also launched its new Culture Strategy 2024-30 this summer, a collaborative citywide strategy with strong sectoral support, which had previously been peer-reviewed at a Eurocities network Culture Forum last year. Culture’s role in envisioning solutions and driving transformation, beyond the mere commercialisation of culture is clearly stated. Our strategy prioritises our cultural identity which promoting experimentation, artistic freedom, skills development and advocates for integrating culture into Green and Social Deals.

Access to culture is also underscored, with cultural rights emphasised, particularly for linguistic minorities, children, women, the elderly and especially those experiencing poverty. We also emphasise the significance of promoting culture’s contribution to physical and mental health – culture and sport also being ‘healing strategies’ as demonstrated by Glasgow Life’s ‘Live Well’ Community Referral programme, delivered in partnership with our local health board, which supports people to access cultural, sporting and other activities to improve wellbeing through green and social prescribing.

As a UNESCO Creative City of Music, I hope that Glasgow’s theme song “I belong to Glasgow…and Glasgow belongs to me” is an inspiration to all and an antidote to the dangers of othering in the quest to belong.

The vision of our Culture Strategy clearly states:

Culture is Glasgow’s heart.

Our mission is to ensure Glasgow’s cultural landscape truly reflects the City’s people and our relationships with the rest of the world. This intangible heritage is part of our DNA – as is our citizens’ delightful disregard for authority.

Nothing best sums Glaswegians like the Duke of Wellington statue outside our Gallery of Modern Art in the city centre. There is a sort of rite of passage and the right Glaswegians reserve to express their beliefs, creativity, and community with the crowning of the Duke with a traffic cone – as they did with a cone draped in the EU’s blue and yellow stars on Brexit Day.

In this city, we believe in the ‘power of culture’ to change lives, but creativity does take courage. With the irreverent Glaswegian spirit and the words from the Scottish play, ‘screw your courage to the sticking place’, Glasgow boldly strides forward to share our cultural heritage.

Glasgow is the city that puts the art in party – and as we celebrate our heritage in our 850th anniversary next year, everyone is invited to the party!