Revealed: Glasgow's top 5 Summer Festivals

Glasgow has without doubt one of the most exciting annual festival line-ups of any city in Europe, which is just one of the reasons why it's a top destination for a city break.

Throughout the year, there is an incredible selection of diverse festivals that celebrate everything from writing to the visual arts, film to Americana and cabaret - but it's when the summer arrives and the sun comes out that the festival season truly kicks off.

Partly to celebrate the fact that summer is nearly upon us, and partly to provide a festival guide for anyone staying in Glasgow hostels in the coming months, here at Eurohostels we've canvassed opinion and come up with our five favourite summer festivals. If you can, you should definitely put them in your diary...

West End Festival
Friday 1st – Sunday June 24th, various venues

The first major festival to kick off the season in Glasgow and it couldn't get any better than the West End Festival (WEF). The festival opens with a huge carnival parade - matched in size only by Notting Hill in the UK - and continues in the same vein for the next three weeks.

A huge programme of events makes up the festival and includes everything from theatre and music, to comedy, drama and film screenings. Many of the events are free and highlights include the Gibson Street Gala on Sunday June 17th, as well as the traditional Chamber Project at Cottiers Theatre (tickets £7).

Last year was the biggest in its history with a record 650 events taking place, bolstering its reputation as one of Scotland's finest free festivals. Now in its 17th year, the WEF has been running since 1996 when it was set up by Michael Dale. He remains its director but most of the events are now organised by the fine people of Glasgow.

At the time of writing, the WEF was putting the finishing touches to its 2012 programme, so check the website for the full festival line-up.

Glasgow Mela
Saturday 23rd – Sunday June 24th, Kelvingrove Park

The word Mela is Sanskrit for 'to meet' and is the traditional word used for festivals on the Indian subcontinent. Today, the Mela has taken something of a new meaning and is more of a celebration of multiculturalism with a special focus on Asia.

Melas take place in cities across the UK every year but the Glasgow Mela has to be one of, if not, the best. Expect wonderful music and arts with colourful dashes of Bhangra, Bollywood and everything in between.

The Free event is sponsored by O2 and takes place over the last weekend of the West End Festival in Glasgow's beautiful Kelvingrove Park.

Glasgow International Jazz Festival
Wednesday June 27th – Monday July 2nd, various venues

The Glasgow Jazz Festival has been attracting the biggest names in the world of jazz to the city for a quarter of a century. Genre legends like Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie have previously headlined the festival and this year marks the 26th in its history.

Celebrating jazz in all its forms and influences across six days and six venues, a truly diverse range of performers representing all facets of the genre will take to the stage. This year's big attractions include Ginger Baker's Jazz Confusion at the Old Fruitmarket and George Benson at the Clyde Auditorium.

Every night of the festival, the Late Night Jazz Club at the Thistle Glasgow will also feature surprise acts playing between 11pm and 2am and tickets are free, though you do need to book them in advance.

Most tickets for other events cost between £10 and £16, though if you fancy splashing out there are £150 VIP packages available to see George Benson. Check out the Jazz Festival website for more information.

Surge: Scotland's festival of street arts, physical theatre and circus
Monday 23rd – Sunday July 29th, The Arches and other venues

Now in its third year, Surge is a festival unlike any other in Scotland. Bringing together some of the most exceptionally talented companies from Scotland and across the world, Surge is based at The Arches but inhabits a clutch of Glasgow's leading venues and often spills out onto the streets.

As well as some truly stunning circus and physical theatre performances, there are a range of workshops and classes for those wanting to try their hand at some of the arts showcased during Surge, with the free Physical Theatre Summer School running during the last week of the festival a prime example.

Many of the events are free, but the highlight has to be Deviator, the city-wide takeover by the Australian PVI Collective, who mash together performance art with children's games to create a disruptively interventionist take on the flash mob.

Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival
Monday 6th – Sunday August 12th, various venues

The week-long Piping Live! festival turns Glasgow into the world's centre for piping (in all its forms).

Some of the most renowned international pipers descend on Glasgow during the festival, and though you probably won't find them in Heat magazine, trust when us we say these guys are seriously famous in some circles.

Events of all kinds run throughout the week with concerts, ceilidhs and more going on. The opening night at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall promises to be exceptional with the John McSherry Band, Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and Kris Drever all performing and there is plenty more to excite during the rest of the week.

Tickets are on sale now and all events cost £15 for adults or £12 for concessions. There's also a 'Golden Ticket' deal to get six tickets for the price of five.

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