The Glasgow Fair 2024: Is today a bank holiday in Scotland?

Usually celebrated in the last two weeks of July each year, the date has been a staple of the local calendar for hundreds of years.

If you're looking to see if there is a bank holiday today, here is everything you need to know.

What is the Glasgow Fair holiday?

Happy Fair Friday!

The city no longer empties for the Fair fortnight but that wasn't always the case. Here we see crowds of holidaymakers coming ashore at Rothesay pier on July 17th, 1956 for the Glasgow Fair holiday.

📷 TSPL pic.twitter.com/OXJqRqOl1G

— Past Glasgow (@PastGlasgow) July 12, 2024

The Glasgow Fair holiday is a date that has been marked since the 12th century with the earliest incarnation of the event taking place in 1190 when Bishop Jocelin obtained permission from King William the Lion to hold festivals.

The date also saw the inclusion of a fair which was held in and around Glasgow Cathedral until the 1800s.

Until the 1960s, most local businesses and factories closed on "Fair Friday" to allow workers and their families to go to the Firth of Clyde or Ayrshire coast.

Are you off today for the Glasgow Fair?

Here are some photos and postcards from the Glasgow Life Museum collections celebrating the tradition of 'Going doon the watter'. pic.twitter.com/9hdQnSG1Bi

— Kelvin Hall (@KelvinHall16) July 15, 2024

When does the Glasgow Fair holiday take place?

The Glasgow Fair holiday usually takes place in the last two weeks of July with this year's date occurring today (instead of July 13).

Who gets the Glasgow Fair holiday off?

Sadly, the date is only a bank holiday for those living or working in the City of Glasgow with a number of services including GPs, housing associations and council offices closing for the day.