For Glasgow’s children, December may mean getting away from school for a few weeks, visiting family, or letters to Santa – and, for many, a trip to the Irn Bru Carnival.
With over a hundred years of history to this event, from its current residence in the Scottish Events Campus to the years many fondly remember in the Kelvin Hall, there is little doubt this unique indoor fair has captured the hearts and minds of the city’s people and has many fans from Scotland and, indeed, beyond.
For the Showmen it’s a welcome break from having to worry about the weather, as the event, with the exception of Funtime Carnivals’ Ice Blast pendulum ride, are all located under cover in halls that have heating and air conditioning.
Showmen are also able to have their living trailers outside, or for some it’s easier to commute to their local yards and relax at home each evening after closing. This year’s carnival ran from 20 December 2024 until 12 January 2025.
We visited the carnival on the first Saturday in January and by the time we arrived at 1pm there was a queue out the door to go through the security metal detectors and the rides in the hall were already busy.
Rides return
New to the hall this year was a duo of rides presented by Michael Harris who travelled up from England with his Superstar and PWS Sizzler. Judging by the queues the Superstar was proving very popular after the ride was omitted from last year’s line-up, when the organiser tried a different novelty ride on the same central position under the highest part of the roof.
Also returning after a year off were Ryan Colquhoun’s gallopers which were in the lower roofed hall along with Hornes Pleasure Fairs’ dodgems, Jorden Crole’s rotor, Jonathon Wheatley’s Speed Buzz and Wilmot’s Attractions’ Air Raid.
Heading back to the main hall, Kenneth Stirling was open with his Miami Superbob, Stanley Gamble presented his Jumpin and Funtime Carnivals presented their Viva Mexico Miami. Raecher Hiscoe was open with his unique self-built Star Fighter ride, Taylors of Cumbria had their smart Porter Waltzer and Reece Wheatley was open with his Matterhorn and Frozen Coaster.
For the children
For those who wanted a slightly gentler attraction Reece Clark was in the main hall with his large Jumbos juvenile which usually resides on Largs seafront. Also here for younger visitors were Jordan Wilmot’s balloon ride, Stanley Gamble’s toyset, Wilmot’s Attractions Monster Cars, Philip Paris’ tea cups, Trent Irvin’s slide, Gilbert Findlay’s helter skelter and the impressive climbing walls of Sheldon Stewart and Sons.
Unlike most fairs where there are a large number of inflatables there are hardly any in Halls 4 and 5 as there is now a separate hall full of inflatable equipment that can be accessed using multiple tokens.
Fun houses and shows are always popular at the SEC and this year Billy Hill returned with his 3D show which entertained families with a walk through light show, while Barron Phillips returned with his Hotel Terror, which seemed to give a good number of visitors a few scares. Funtime Carnivals completed the line-up of fun houses and shows with their Bavarian themed fun house.
Games of luck and skill
Ensuring there is truly something for everyone is one of the Irn Bru Carnival organisers’ toughest jobs and, as with previous years, a wide selection of games help give the hall an atmosphere, with stall holders doing their best to tempt visitors into trying their luck or testing their skill.
Among the options were Edward Percival’s pick, darts, toppling coins on the 10p falls, Arthur David Hancock’s bingo, Daley Capps’ whack a Minion and Kevin Carter’s mixed game stall. There was also a great selection of round stalls with unique swag including a chance to win a cute Highland Cow. Looking smart on a first time visit was William Shaw’s XXL prize unit where riders had to use split second timing to cut the string and win a large prize.
Keeping everyone fed can’t be easy and the SEC as always had something for everyone, from fairground favourites such as hot dogs and candy floss to noodles, pick & mix and, taking advantage of the fact that the event is indoors, even ice cream.
As the event drew to a close the Showmen’s thoughts turned to winter work on their attractions and perhaps a well-earned break during the few weeks before turning out for the 2025 season.
Visitors, meanwhile, headed home from the carnival with a cuddly toy, tales of who they bumped into on the dodgem or of just how close the rides spin you to the roof!
There can be no doubt that the SEC Events team and all the Showmen in attendance play their part in keeping alive the tradition of Glasgow’s indoor carnival as many visitors will eagerly await its return in December 2025.
