Merchant City Festival is back for 2026, and this year it’s carrying serious weight – flagship event of the Commonwealth Games Festival, and the programme’s been scaled up to match. Circus, dance, live music and a full family programme spill out of the venues and straight onto the pavement across the historic Merchant City, with added mid-week programming landing in Candleriggs Square too.
It runs across two weekends – 24-26 July and 31 July-2 August – so you’ve got two separate shots at it if the first one gets rained off or you just want more. Everything’s free, it’s all within easy walking distance of Buchanan Street and St Enoch subway stations, and with the Commonwealth Games on at the same time, the city centre’s about to get very lively indeed.
Featured Events
The full programme’s still filling out, but a few things worth building your visit around:
- Good Times Market, Candleriggs Square – a 10-day outdoor food market running the length of the festival, with Scottish, Sri Lankan, Lebanese, Malaysian, Thai and Greek flavours on offer, plus a free music stage covering jazz, indie, trad and hip hop.
- Merchant Square Family Day – Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July, 11am-5pm. Free, no booking, and packed with roaming performers, circus acts and acrobatics for all ages.
- The Briggait / Clydeside Commons – new to the festival for 2026. An indoor street food and DJ space by day and night, with The Watershed next door running family workshops about the River Clyde.
- Candleriggs Square big screen – live Commonwealth Games coverage every day from 24 July to 2 August, alongside live music, food and drink.
- SURGE Festival takeover – outdoor arts acts spilling through the Merchant City streets, part of the wider festival programme.
The Details
- Date: 24-26 July and 31 July-2 August 2026
- Venue: Merchant City (Candleriggs Square, Merchant Square and surrounding streets)
- Price: Free
- Website: glasgowlife.org.uk/merchant-city-festival
