Festivals in Glasgow: Tickets available tomorrow for free Queen's Park Arena summer programme 2024

Running from June 28 to July 21, tickets for the Queens Park Arena summer programme 2024 are available to book from Thursday May 9 at 12pm – and with 31 movies, six live sports screenings, 15 creative workshops, 12 fitness classes, two competitive sports events, and a dozen early years sessions on offer, there’s something for everyone!

Produced by Inhouse Event Solutions CIC, the community-led programme has become a much-loved part of the city’s summer celebrations, bringing an incredible 35,000+ people to the southside site over 24 days in 2023, and allowing friends and family to spend time together come rain or shine.

Opening the 2024 season at Queens Park Arena, The Glasgow Choir Festival will bring together talented groups from all over the city on June 28 as part of the programme’s Open Stage events, which include professionally-produced arts and music activities from local and international talent. Back by popular demand, on June 29, The Glasgow Annual Hip Hop Jam also returns to the historic amphitheatre, offering a multi-generational celebration of hip hop culture, including live DJ and MC performances, street dance, live art competitions and workshops. Throughout the summer season, the Open Stage will provide space for local artists to showcase their skills.

Now a popular fixture for the city’s avid film buffs, the programme will once again feature the Cults and Classics free open air cinema (tickets subject to £0.50 booking fee per person) from July 1 to July 19, offering weekday matinee and evening screenings of everything from Disney and Pixar to sing-a-longs, rom coms and of course cult classics. There will be a whopping 31 screenings available to book, including 18 family-friendly films and 13 movies suitable for over 18s.

And in addition to the main features, pre-show content on Tuesday to Friday evenings will feature 12 short films curated by Glasgow Short Film Festival, celebrating rising Scottish directors and filmmakers, as well as live performances from local musicians.

As part of the programme’s Glasgow Games offering, there will be plenty for sports fans and fitness lovers, too. Not only will the UEFA Euro 2024 knockout round, quarter finals and finals be screened live, both the men’s and women’s Wimbledon finals will be shown on July 13/14. For those looking to get more hands-on, there will be a range of competitive and participatory fitness events and classes, such as yoga, HIIT, Muay Thai, dancing and much more.

On July 13, The Glasgow Games Family Fitness Megathon will offer back-to-back fitness classes, including warm ups, aerobics, HIIT and Socafit – and with space for up to 500 participants to exercise together, it’s set to be the biggest fitness class in Glasgow. Lycra is most certainly welcome, if not encouraged.

On the following day, July 14, The Glasgow Games - Battle of the Gyms will see a showdown between local gym instructors from Pure Gym, Anytime Fitness and Future Fitness, offering an adrenaline-fueled afternoon of competition, camaraderie and sheer determination as teams compete in 3 gruelling back to back team games for the title of Glasgow’s Fittest Gym

Adding an extra special element to this year’s festivities, the Greenhouse Tent will feature an array of creative art workshops and activities for all ages, including DJ/MC lessons and graffiti workshops, as well as Songwriting, Steelpan and DJ skills workshops provided by SoundLab. With a reduced noise area that’s perfect for pets, and a “weather contingency zone” with a second screen for cinema and sports screenings, the 320 square metre covered area will ensure the fun keeps going no matter the weather.

Plus, for families, parents, grandparents and carers seeking entertainment for preschoolers during the summer holidays, the Big Fun section of the programme boasts a range of free early years activities, including toddler dance classes, book readings and soft play sessions. The children’s events always prove popular, so please book in advance to avoid disappointment!

And if all that wasn’t enough, for the duration of the 24-day festival, the fully licenced Bando Bar will be open from 12 noon to 11pm everyday, offering lager and IPA from local award-winning brewers William Bros, freshly roasted coffee from Dear Green, and food such as woodfired pizza, nachos, popcorn, soft serve ice cream, and fresh fruit and allergy-free snacks for the wee ones.

Chet Capkiner, founding director of Inhouse Event Solutions CIC said: “I’m very excited to welcome everyone in the southside and beyond back to Queens Park Arena this summer. I’m proud to be part of a team that is capable of delivering such a complex programme – and one which we strive to improve every year.

“We have buckets of new events this season, including The Glasgow Annual Hip Hop Jam, and our new fitness competition Battle of the Gyms. We want to create a place unlike any other in the city, and be ‘the’ destination that people visit in Glasgow during the summer holidays. See you all soon!”