Govanhill International Festival and Carnival

Govanhill International Festival and Carnival A celebration of creativity, solidarity, and community in one of Scotland’s most diverse neighbourhoods.

1-10 August 2025

govanhillbaths.com/festival

JOIN THE PARADEYOU’RE SAFE HERE1 AUG 2026 Assemble from 12:30pm at the Queen’s Park Victoria Road GateGovanhill Internat...
16/07/2026

JOIN THE PARADE
YOU’RE SAFE HERE

1 AUG 2026
Assemble from 12:30pm at the Queen’s Park Victoria Road Gate

Govanhill International Festival & Carnival(GIFC) originated following racist attacks in the local area in 2016. Marking its tenth year, the festival has been an opportunity for this diverse community to stand together against hatred, bigotry and fascism.

In the rise of racist incidents and far right attacks, our parade creates a space for everyone to proudly celebrate our culture and express solidarity with others. Speak, chant, and march in the parade, you will be followed and surrounded by thousands of us.

Bring your banners and bright costumes. If you experience or witness any discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, faith, poverty, or any other characteristics, speak to a member of GBCT staff.

SIGN UP HERE govanhillbaths.com if you are groups or organisations.

See you on Saturday 1 August 2026.

Image Credit: GIFC 2025 © Rob Reid

2026 Festival Highlights ③On 9 August, Join us for a Sunday cinema INSIDE the Baths building as the Steamie becomes a fi...
16/07/2026

2026 Festival Highlights ③

On 9 August, Join us for a Sunday cinema INSIDE the Baths building as the Steamie becomes a film theatre for a day. The final day of the festival – Sunday 16 August – the Street Music Festival returns, with live music, DJs, spoken word, performance and gatherings across our neighbourhood.

Solidarity Screenings
Sunday 9 August, 11am–8pm
£5–20 tickets via govanhillbaths.com | The Steamie in Govanhill Baths, Access from Kingarth Street

‘United We Will Swim, Again’ tells the story of the Baths and its occupation; ‘Govanhill’ traces the everyday lives and grassroots organising of people who live locally; the award-winning ‘Everybody to Kenmure Street’ shows the powerful community resistance to a deportation attempt in Pollokshields; and ‘Beats’ follows two young friends navigating the 90s rave scene against the backdrop of the Criminal Justice Bill. Scenes from this film were shot in Govanhill Baths.

Street Music Festival
Sunday 16 August, 12pm–8pm
Free Entry | Various locations across Govanhill

Curated and performed in partnership with SNACK Magazine , DUENDE , Love Music Hate Racism , South Asian Network TV and the Absolutely Flawless Sound System visit our website for locations and stages info.

Tramway Beyond Walls: Requiem by Kaleider
Sunday 16 August, 3:30pm–5pm
Free Entry | Queen’s Park Terraces

What rituals do we need to face the moment we are living? When we come together, what will we choose to build? This large-scale outdoor performance combines kinetic installation and an original musical score. Presented as a part of Tramway Beyond Walls – an ongoing strand of contemporary performance, visual art and creative participation which aims to engage with local audiences outside of the physical limits of the Tramway building. Presented in partnership with the Govanhill Baths Creative Canopies programme.

Please visit govanhillbaths.com for ticketings, bookings, and wider programmes.

Image credit:
Everybody to Kenmure Street © Felipe Bustos Sierra
Beats © Brian Welsh
Dance Makes the Floor at Govanhill Festival by Mark Bleakley © Erika Stevenson
Tramway beyond Walls: Requiem by Kaleider © Fluxx Films Barney Witts

2026 Festival Highlights ②On 7 August 2001, the police forcibly removed the protesters from the Baths and ended the occu...
16/07/2026

2026 Festival Highlights ②

On 7 August 2001, the police forcibly removed the protesters from the Baths and ended the occupation of the building. 25 years later, on Friday 7 August 2026, dance, music performances and an award ceremony will take place in the Baths, to commemorate the public protest which saved the building back in 2001, and celebrate the community connection that still exists in Govanhill today.

DIVE: The Ballad of Govanhill Baths
Friday 7 August, 4pm, 4:45pm, & 5:30pm
Free Entry | Govanhill Baths, 99 Calder Street G42 7RA

The outdoor dance performance gathers an all-ages community cast in the streets around the Baths. Created by Bex Anson, with a newly commissioned song by Lainey Dempsey, the work blends choreography, oral history and collective celebration all inspired by the people who keep the Baths alive.

The Pineapple Trophy
Friday 7 August, 6:30pm
Free tickets via govanhillbaths.com | The Steamie in Govanhill Baths, Access from Kingarth Street

Someone threw a pineapple at the police in 2001 and the pineapple became a symbol of resistance and defiance. In 2026 we launch a new annual community award this August to honour this fierce community spirit. The Pineapple Trophy is cast in sterling silver, commemorating one of the most extraordinary stories in Scottish protest history.

Jeremy Corbyn in Conversation with Josie Long: Govanhill Book Festival
Friday 7 August, 7pm – 8:30pm
£5–15 tickets via govanhillbaths.com | Queen’s Park Parish Church 170 Queen’s Drive G42 8QZ

In the evening, the annual Govanhill Book Festival opens with Jeremy Corbyn in conversation with Josie Long discussing politics, jokes, literature and the possibility of transforming society. The book festival continues on Saturday 8 and Thursday 13 August with authors including Dan Serridge, Rahul Rao’s, Frances Crawford’s, and a session with four of Scotland’s leading poets – Hannah Lavery, Beth Frieden, Juana Adcock and Ruth Aylett.

Please visit govanhillbaths.com for ticketings, bookings, and wider programmes.

Image credit:
The Pineapple Trophy © Alan Dimmick
DIVE: Ballad of Govanhill Baths © Bex Anson
Jeremy Corbyn © Richard Townsend
Josie Long © Nicky Rowbottom

2026 Festival Highlights ①Govanhill International Festival & Carnival comes back with a larger scale celebration, exciti...
16/07/2026

2026 Festival Highlights ①

Govanhill International Festival & Carnival comes back with a larger scale celebration, exciting collaboration with the local and international partners.

Parade & Carnival
Saturday 1 August, 1pm–5pm
Free Entry | Assemble at 12:30pm at Queen's Park Victoria Road Gate

A colourful, vibrant and vocal parade takes over the streets of Govanhill. Let’s bring joy to the neighbourhood as drums, banners, brass bands and community groups come together – there will be music, dancing, protest and even a unicorn!

Govanhill Baths, Ours!
Tuesday 7 July – Wednesday 27 September
Free Entry (Wed – Sun) | Tramway 25 Albert Drive G41 2PE

The exhibition gathers original protest banners, pool artefacts, photography, films and community voices for a free exhibition hosted within the Greater Govanhill Magazine Community Canvas space at Tramway. Through stories of workers, families and neighbours from different waves of migration, it traces how the Baths became woven into the social life of Govanhill. Visit our website govanhillbaths.com for opening hours and access information.

Sensorial Symphonies
Saturday 15 August, 8pm–10pm
£3–8 tickets via govanhillbaths.com | Queen’s Park Parish Church 170 Queen’s Drive G42 8QZ

Through movement, scent, touch, sound and design, choreographer Elisabeth Schilling’s work asks what if humans could feel the world the way plants do. Performed by an all-female cast, this is a sonic landscape as layered as the ecosystems it evokes.

Please visit govanhillbaths.com for ticketing, bookings, opening hours and wider programmes.

Image credit:
GIFC 2025 © Rob Reid
Govanhill Baths, Ours! © Alan Dimmick
Sensorial Symphonies © Bohumil Kostohryz

Festival programme announced!Join us for the 10th edition of Govanhill International Festival and Carnival - an anti-rac...
26/06/2026

Festival programme announced!

Join us for the 10th edition of Govanhill International Festival and Carnival - an anti-racist festival of neighbourhood, resistance and recognition.

Saturday 1 - Sunday 16 August 2026

This year the festival marks 25 years since campaigners took over the Govanhill Baths building, after Glasgow City Council closed the space. Performances, film screenings, a community award and an exhibition will commemorate the public protest which saved the building back in 2001, honour the people who occupied it, and celebrate the community connection in Govanhill today.

For full event details, please see our new website https://govanhillbaths.com/what-we-do/gifc/

Featured Images:

1. SENSORIAL SYMPHONIES, Saturday 15 August 8pm ’s Park Parish Church, 170 Queen’s Drive, G42 8QZ, performance co-produced by Elisabeth Schilling & Company & United Instruments of Lucilin

2. REQUIEM BY KALEIDER, Sunday 16 August 3.30pm ’s Park Terrace, Part of Tramway Beyond Walls – an ongoing strand of contemporary performance, visual art and creative participation which aims to engage with local audiences outside of the physical limits of the Tramway building. Presented in partnership with the Govanhill Baths Creative Canopies programme.

3,5. PARADE & CARNIVAL, Saturday 1 August, Assemble at 12.30pm ’s Park Victoria Road Gate

4. THE PINEAPPLE TROPHY, Friday 7 August 6.30pm Steamie, Govanhill Baths G42 7RA (Access from Kingarth Street)

Full programme info & tickets via https://govanhillbaths.com/what-we-do/gifc/

Govanhill International Festival & Carnival is supported by Creative Scotland , Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Government and a huge number of partners across the community without whom the festival would not happen.

VOLUNTEER WITH US!Govanhill International Festival & Carnival 20261-16 August Our volunteers make the festival happen. H...
04/06/2026

VOLUNTEER WITH US!

Govanhill International Festival & Carnival 2026
1-16 August

Our volunteers make the festival happen. Help us build the Anti-racist festival together!

We are celebrating 10 years of Scotland’s anti-racist festival
and 25 years since the occupation of Govanhill Baths. Volunteering is the most hands-on way to get involved.

For more information, please visit our website:
govanhillbaths.com/volunteering-at-gifc

If you have a question, please get in touch with our Volunteer Co-ordinator Josephine: [email protected]

Join the Parade & Carnival!Saturday 1 August 2026Assemble at 12.30pm, Queen’s Park (Victoria Road Gate)Our Parade and Ca...
22/05/2026

Join the Parade & Carnival!

Saturday 1 August 2026
Assemble at 12.30pm, Queen’s Park (Victoria Road Gate)

Our Parade and Carnival day is a vibrant celebration of culture, creativity, and community, which is the key part of our anti-racist mission.

Starting in Queen’s Park, we march through Govanhill and into Govanhill Park
where the day continues with performances, music, and food.

We are inviting local activists, organisations, community groups and artist/performance collectives to register to join.

Please sign up via the link below, so that we can design the logistics for every group to shine.

We also have a limited number of stalls on our Carnival site (Govanhill Park), available to groups for fundraising, workshops and raising awareness around your campaign. Please express your interest via the sign-up form.

Find out more: govanhillbaths.com/join-the-parade-carnival-gifc-2026/

Image credit: Rob Reid

Above: lyrics from a picket line song written 25 years ago during the occupation of Govanhill Baths.“This pool is my poo...
24/03/2026

Above: lyrics from a picket line song written 25 years ago during the occupation of Govanhill Baths.
“This pool is my pool…”

So let’s pool together.

We’re proud to be supported by the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games Festival Fund.

But here’s the reality in Govanhill.

For 25 years, we’ve been fighting to get our pool back.
A whole generation has grown up without it.

No local pool. No equal access. Still waiting.

This matters. But we also have to ask: what actually changes after all this?

Where are the places for us to gather, connect, socialise and swim?
25 years on, we’re still looking for somewhere to swim.

Pool Together brings that story into the Govanhill International Festival & Carnival
with local people at the centre, not the sidelines.

It all comes together at the parade on Saturday 1 August 2026
bringing hundreds into the streets, together.

Reminder: 10 days left to apply for the festival programmes and grants!The GIFC 2026 Open Call and Creative Neighbourhoo...
12/03/2026

Reminder: 10 days left to apply for the festival programmes and grants!

The GIFC 2026 Open Call and Creative Neighbourhood Grants Application will close on Sunday, 22 March 2026.

We are celebrating 10 years of Scotland’s anti-racist festival and 25 years since the occupation of Govanhill Baths. Join us in putting solidarity into action as we honour these milestones and continue the long work of building a fairer, kinder and more connected Govanhill.

Creative Neighbourhood Grants 2026 are bursaries of up to £1000 for your GIFC 2026 event. We especially encourage project ideas that spark both joy and critical questions in response to the grant theme: create/disrupt.

Deadline: Sunday, 12pm, 22nd of March 2026

To apply, please visit the Govanhill Baths website. If you have any questions about submissions please email at [email protected]

Find out more: https://www.govanhillbaths.com/festival-3/

Funding application now open: Creative Neighbourhood Grants 2026 Creative Neighbourhood grants offer micro-bursaries of ...
20/02/2026

Funding application now open: Creative Neighbourhood Grants 2026

Creative Neighbourhood grants offer micro-bursaries of up to £1000 to support the delivery of your GIFC events submitted through our Open Call. This funding is about supporting the creative life of our neighbourhood. It’s for the artists, organisers, thinkers, and makers who live, work, and have a meaningful connection to Govanhill and the surrounding area.

The grant is designed for the artists, organisers, thinkers, and makers who live, work, and have a connection to Govanhill and the surrounding area. This funding can cover a wide range of activities, including but not limited to:

Music, dance, and theatre performances
Art exhibitions and installations
Film screenings
Workshops, talks, and seminars
Community gatherings

To be considered for this funding, you must complete both the GIFC 2026 Festival Submission Form and the Creative Neighbourhoods application form. Please visit our website or click the link in bio to find out more details. We look forward to hearing from you!

Submit your grant application & festival submission now:
https://www.govanhillbaths.com/festival-3/

Address

Govanhill
Glasgow

Telephone

+441414332999

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