Image: Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
Merchant City Festival will return to Glasgow from 24 July to 2 August 2026, with organisers describing the event as a larger-than-ever edition that will transform the city’s Merchant City area into a hub for outdoor arts, street theatre, dance and family activity. Glasgow Life’s festival announcement says the event will again bring performance out into public space, with programming spread across multiple locations rather than concentrated in a single venue.
The festival is presented this year as a flagship event of Glasgow 2026 Festival. Glasgow Life’s website places Merchant City Festival among the city’s headline cultural attractions for the year, alongside major civic and arts programmes. The organisation describes Glasgow Life as a charity that delivers culture, sport, learning and community support across Glasgow, and its online listings show Merchant City Festival as part of a wider summer season of city events.
The main festival message emphasises outdoor performance and street-level spectacle. Glasgow Life says Surge Festival returns to Merchant City Festival with street theatre acts from the UK and abroad, and the programme will feature world-class outdoor theatre, immersive installations and high-energy dance. The announcement also highlights a range of family-friendly and participatory elements designed to bring audiences into the action rather than keeping them at a remove.
Among the scheduled activities are two Family Days at Merchant Square on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July, running from 11am to 5pm. According to the festival information, those days will include performances by acrobats and a fully inclusive ceilidh in which everyone can dance together. The family programme is presented as part of the festival’s broader aim of offering events every day throughout the run.
The festival is also expanding to a new venue in 2026: The Briggait. Glasgow Life says the additional site is being used thanks to funding from Glasgow 2026 Festival. The Briggait programme is set to include resident DJs, inspiring talks, family activities and interactive Participation Zones with workshops for all ages. Glasgow Life also says The Rail Yard will take over the venue during the two festival weekends, transforming the space with global sounds and food.
Food and markets are another significant part of the 2026 edition. Glasgow Life says Good Times Market will take over Candleriggs Square for the duration of the festival, presenting a street food offer that includes Ceylon Cartel, Kneeded Pizza, I Love Gyros and Los Colmanos, among other vendors. The festival announcement also refers to a global street food market as part of the wider offering across Merchant City.
The source material places the festival firmly in Glasgow’s city centre, with events distributed across various locations in Merchant City. Its online listings also connect the festival with other Glasgow Life and Glasgow 2026 events, including a separate entry for Surge Festival of Street Theatre on 2 August at Merchant City Festival locations. Merchant City Festival itself is listed as running from 24 July to 2 August 2026 across various locations in Merchant City, Glasgow.
