City Unveils New Birthday Brand to Mark 850th Year

The four core icons used with the brand use recognisable symbols synonymous with Glasgow's story. More symbols will be developed to highlight the wide-ranging achievements of the city and its people, with a special focus on the past fifty years and a strong emphasis on its future ambitions.

Developed to complement the city's distinctive and popular People Make Glasgow look, the new brand brings plans for a yearlong programme of activities for Glasgow 850 together under one strong visual identity.

Throughout 2025 Glasgow will mark its 850^th birthday by delivering, with partners, a, citywide programme that celebrates and reflects on our recent past, our present and future.

The calendar of signature events and community-based activities is being curated to let those with a connection to Glasgow, at home and abroad, get involved to tell their stories, honouring our rich heritage, reflecting on transformational growth, and inspiring ambitious change for the city's next fifty years.

The brand, which is based on the idea of badges, will be free to use and made available to businesses, and community groups, to help them show support for Glasgow 850 and get involved. It has been developed in a way that the icons around the core Glasgow 850 image could be changed and customised to make it more personal to groups and individuals with an affinity to the city.

Designed by Glasgow-based firm Tangent, the idea came from thinking about how people have and continue to use physical badges to visually represent who they are - reflecting passions, achievements and allegiances.

In today's digital first age, people will be offered different digital 'badge' icons to use, each representing something the city can be proud of and a way to curate their own icons, with meaningful and relevant symbols. This allows everyone mark this milestone and show the world what Glasgow means to them, personally.

Susanne Miller, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council said: "Marking the city's 850^th birthday is an opportunity that goes beyond celebrations and commemorations. It acknowledges the contributions of generations who have shaped the city, gives a platform to grow a shared sense of belonging and invites people to guide our future.

"This new Glasgow850 brand is an imaginative and inclusive way for people to take part and express what Glasgow means to them and helping them to tell their story."

The concept and design were met with approval from children from Saracen Primary School in Possilpark, where they were given a sneak peek before the official launch.

Jaxson, P6 said; "I think it's a cool idea. We've learned about the city's story with the bird, bell, fish and the tree and so I can see that they mean something to Glasgow." His classmate David commented, "I love the idea of thinking up what our own symbols might be and how that can be something we want to see in Glasgow's future."

Alison McGill Headteacher at Saracen Primary in Possilpark, in the north of the city, said, "The brand is vibrant and relevant to Glasgow. Because of the colour used, people will know when they see it that it is for them to get involved in.

"Seeing the brand has given us a great starting point to go away and have a think about how we might turn this milestone for the city into a learning opportunity for the children, what it means to them and how we can get involved next year.

"Sense of identity is a key part of our children's learning as it gives a strong feeling of belonging. For this reason, we start every new school year with a local area study, next year we will be extending our focus city-wide."

The main programme for Glasgow 850, starting January 2025 will be launched in September this year.