About
Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival is an annual event celebrating the city's architecture, culture & heritage.
Each September we bring together dozens of participants who throw open the doors of over 100 historic buildings, theatres, museum stores, factories, studios, breweries & more, across the city, to the public, for free. Our mission is to increase civic pride among Glaswegians and to broaden awareness of the city's rich built & cultural heritage at local, national & international levels.
Each September we bring together dozens of participants who throw open the doors of over 100 historic buildings, theatres, museum stores, factories, studios, breweries & more, across the city, to the public, for free. Our mission is to increase civic pride among Glaswegians and to broaden awareness of the city's rich built & cultural heritage at local, national & international levels.
What was originally a weekend of open buildings has grown to become a week-long programme with a diverse range of events engaging with the city's built environment in different ways. We also have a dedicated children's programme of activities & pull together a programme of over 100 other events, exhibitions, guided walks and talks. During this year's festival, you'll have the opportunity to participate in a guided tour investigating ghost signs throughout the city, workshops in one of the city's popular clubs, historic tours of Glasgow's Golden Age & a talk about Glasgow's interwar queer underworld.
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The festival has been organised by Glasgow Building Preservation Trust since it began in 1990 as part of the City of Culture celebrations. Glasgow Doors Open Days is the largest of a family of Doors Open Days events happening across Scotland throughout September, coordinated nationally by the Scottish Civic Trust and supported by Historic Environment Scotland. Doors Open Days form part of Scotland's contribution to European Heritage Days and are also part of the Festival of Architecture, Scotland's celebration of Architecture coordinated by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and taking place throughout Scotland in September. Each year the festival is made possible thanks to a pool of sponsors and donors including the Glasgow City Council.
Now in its 30th year, Glasgow Doors Open Days has had many different guises... |
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Visitors & Participants
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In 2018, the festival welcomed 16,000 visitors who made 78,200 visits to open buildings and events. 96% of visitors rated their overall experience as good to excellent and 97% of visitors considered the festival to be good to excellent as an educational experience. Over 50% of our visitors are resident in Glasgow, with the majority of others travelling from surrounding areas.
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'We had a wonderful time participating in Glasgow Doors Open Days. We had an amazing amount of people at the venue, and it really helped us feel as though we are working towards a great future for the Pipe Factory. It really raised our profile in the local and general Glasgow community and we were able to engage with a diverse range of people who might not otherwise visit us.' |
Glasgow Doors Open Days relies heavily on individual participants and organisations who choose to open their buildings and to put on or host events. An open call is held in January for individuals and organisations wishing to open buildings or put on events, and applications are accepted from those wishing to take part in March. Participants are selected and additional special events are organised by GBPT to complement the programme.
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