Top Sporting Events to See in Glasgow

Glasgow is synonymous with staging some of the world’s greatest sporting spectacles and is famed for its passionate supporters who bring colour and noise to any given match. The historic city continues to host numerous top-class sporting contests and visitors to Glasgow will no doubt be hoping to catch some of these must-see events.

International Football

Glasgow is famed for its footballing allegiances and there are numerous stadium tours available across the city. Hampden Park regularly hosts International matches such as FIFA World Cup Qualifiers or Friendlies involving the National team. The stadium, which is based in the Mount Florida area of the City, holds 52,063 passionate fans with an unrivalled pre-match atmosphere as throngs of supporters leave the City Centre bars and head towards the packed-out venue. Hampden has been chosen as one of 13 venues across Europe to host a number of UEFA European Championship games in 2020 including multiple group matches and a quarter-final tie.

Club Football

Visitors to the city will be drawn to Ibrox Stadium, the home of Glasgow Rangers. Their rivalry with Celtic is known as the ‘Old Firm’ and is deeply entrenched in Glaswegian history. These games never lack entertainment, provide plenty of controversies, and visitors who get the chance to witness an Old Firm derby will not forget the experience in a hurry. Celtic have dominated recently, although many believe the gap between the two outfits is now starting to close. The two sides have met over 320 times and there have been 18 goals alone during the four meetings staged between April 2015 and October 2017. As of the 12th of October, Betway have priced them up as third favourites for success in the top flight at 25/1 whilst Celtic, who continue to lead the way are priced at 1/50. There are many historic derby matches around Europe but few compare to the electric atmosphere around Ibrox when the two sides do battle.

Darts

Every single year, Glasgow hosts one leg of the Premier League Darts event, which sees the world’s best players compete across a number of weeks. Staged at the SSE Hydro, the PDC‘s top-ranked competitors come together on one stage. In 2017, Peter Wright’s success proved particularly popular with a partisan crowd and they return to do it all again in March 2018. After spending the day in one the City’s many beer gardens, visitors may wish to cap it off by cheering on their favourite players and drinking in the merriment at one of the best venues on the circuit, which regularly attracts over 10,000 darts fans.

Rugby

Visitors to the city should aim to catch the Glasgow Warriors in action. The team compete in the Pro14 league and have enjoyed recent success across various competitions. The Scotstoun Stadium, which is situated in the city’s West End, is within walking distance of many bars. It may only have a capacity of 9,708 but regularly provides a vociferous atmosphere when the Warriors are at home and cheering on the hosts is a terrific way to spend an afternoon. Tickets are snapped up quickly so potential spectators must plan ahead if they wish to catch a match whilst visiting Glasgow.

Basketball

One of the most prestigious awards in sport is the British Basketball Trophy and the final takes place at the Emirates Arena in the city. It’s the second piece of silverware on offer during the regular season and visitors can not only enjoy the final itself but a second match as a pre-cursor to the event. Tickets are snapped up understandably swiftly and the afternoon’s entertainment, which includes music and dancers, provides sports fans with yet another top class day out in Glasgow.

Gymnastics

Many top class Gymnastic events are regularly held in the city and the SSE Hydro in Glasgow is one of the chosen venues to stage the 2018 European Championships. Many of Europe’s elite competitors visit on a regular basis with previous competitions including the 2016 Gymnastics World Cup and the 2015 World Championships held in the city. Events including the pommel horse, balance beam, and vault will all feature and visitors will be able to choose from a range of seating areas and ticketing options from which they can view some of the continents greatest talents in action.

Visitors to Glasgow won’t be short of entertainment when they visit the city but, with so many sporting events taking place, witnessing one of these contests should be top of any tourists list. The entertainment and passion is unrivalled as the city continues to be synonymous with sporting excellence.