Over 50,000 flock to Glasgow Green as fireworks light up the sky

Glasgow’s Fireworks Display in Glasgow Green was one of the biggest ever seen in the city.

Featuring around six tonnes of fireworks, such as the usual favourites of Catherine Wheels and light bursts, more than 18,000 effects were displayed – some of them being shown in Scotland for the first time. 

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Fireworks in Glasgow green were set to music with the iconic People’s Palace and Winter Gardens as the backdrop. 

Operated by a computer firing system, fireworks were set off from a computerised control desk which aligned the lights to the tempo of the music. 

Safety was of the utmost importance, and event organisers asked that anyone coming to the event with children put a contact telephone number in the child’s pocket to help reunite any who get lost with their group as quickly as possible. 

Sarah Odunlami, of Dowanhill, was among those enjoying last night’s event in Glasgow Green with children, Miracle, 5 and Matthew, 7.

She said: “We are so excited we can’t wait for the fireworks! It’s our first one at Glasgow Green. The kids just absolutely love the fireworks and the lights and everything. We’ve even bought them the light sticks.” 

Janine al-gailani, 32, from Tollcross, was also at Glasgow Green with her children.

She said: “I come to the event every year. This year we’ve brought the two boys. 

“We’re excited for the fireworks – we don’t have any private ones or anything as it’s far too dangerous. The best bit is definitely the fireworks! My husband knows everyone, so we always bump into our pals here. That’s where the boys got their sparklers.”

Organisers confirmed 50,000 people were in attendance, while Jennifer Reoch and David Farrell hosted the proceedings. 

Jonathan and Jessica Hamilton helped light up Glasgow Green. Image: Colin Mearns

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Hundreds of children played with the light toys and food trucks adorned the sides of the green while the atmosphere was as incredible as the fireworks themselves. 

In previous years, despite extensive clean-up operations that collected thousands of used sparklers, some users of Glasgow Green reported finding sparklers stuck in the ground in the days after, so this year they were banned. 

Meanwhile in Pollokshields, police were out in force on the streets last night after worries that similar trouble to last year’s fireworks night would occur again in the South Side.

Last year saw incidents of anti-social behaviour using fireworks, including groups of men in balaclavas launching rockets and explosives at houses, cars and community police officers. 

To curb resident concern this year, Police Scotland deployed street teams of officers around Maxwell Park, where most of the trouble occurred last Guy Fawkes night, which seemed to have deterred offenders from repeating the events of 12 months ago. 

Sergeant Melanie Fraser, who organised the street team alongside Sergeant Cennydd Smith, said: “It has been challenging but with the increased number of bodies on the streets, we’ve been able to get on top of it.

“Residents have noticed the increase and the response we’ve been getting is very positive.”

Police Scotland announced the extra measures at a community meeting held by Pollokshields Community Council on October 18, where Sergeant Smith told concerned residents that officers not only identified the culprits but had also undergone measures to stop repeat-offending this year.

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At the meeting, Sergeant Smith he said: “We identified the ringleaders and got a group of 10 of those who were involved.

“This year we’ve gone back and visited them and got them involved in restorative justice programmes and FireReach.”

The street team has been working with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, as well as street pastors from local mosques. 

Sergeant Fraser said: “We want to thank all the groups we’ve partnered with as they’ve been a big help in assisting this year’s response team.”