FROM the glorious garden festival to gymnastics and games, Glasgow is miles better when it comes to staging major events.

Over the decades, the city has expertly hosted high-profile shindigs from world pipe band championships to music awards. As the world’s biggest climate change conference joins the list, Times Past looks back at some of the best.

GLASGOW GARDEN FESTIVAL, 1988

It was the biggest event in Scotland since the Empire Exhibition fifty years earlier. The Garden Festival took place on a 120-acre site around the former Prince’s Dock, on the south bank of the River Clyde, and over the six months it was in town, attracted 4.3 million visitors. More importantly, it sowed the seeds of Glasgow’s reputation for bold, brilliant public spectaculars and proved the city could shine in a global spotlight.

Glasgow Times: GLASGOW 2014 OPENING CEREMONY CELTIC PARK - GLASGOW

COMMONWEALTH GAMES, 2014

The sun shone for almost the entire 11 days, the city glowed and the medals kept on coming - Glasgow 2014 was an incredible sporting celebration which lives long in the memory. New state-of-the-art venues joined the landscape, there was an overwhelming response to the volunteer recruitment campaign and unprecedented demand for tickets as Glaswegians embraced the Commonwealth Games with gusto.

Glasgow Times: Simone Biles. Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, 2015

The world’s best gymnasts, including Simone Biles and Max Whitlock, took the city by storm when the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships came to Glasgow - the first time it was held in Scotland. It was hosted by the Hydro and more than 500 gymnasts, from around 80 countries, took part.

Glasgow Times: JLS at the MOBOs in Glasgow, 2009

MOBO AWARDS, 2009

It is 12 years ago since Glasgow first hosted the MOBOs, in what was a huge coup for the city at the time. The Music of Black Origin awards had never been held outside London before and Glasgow had fierce competition from the likes of Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.It attracted a sell-out crowd of more than 7000 and the event was a huge success. So successful, in fact, that two years later the awards were back in Glasgow, and they would return again in 2013 and 2016. JLS, Beverley Knight, Alesha Dixon, Germaine Jackson and more have all graced the Glasgow event over the years.

Glasgow Times: 15/05/02 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL - REAL MADRID v BAYER LEVERKUSEN (2-1) French ace Zinedine Zidane (R) scores the winning goal for Madrid.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL, 2002

There was a carnival atmosphere in Glasgow when Hampden hosted the 2002 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. Around 18,000 Spanish fans and 8000 Germans partied with Scottish fans at the showpiece event which ended 2-1 to Real Madrid.

Glasgow Times: Nicki Minaj after the 2014 MTV EMA in Glasgow Danny Lawson/PA Wire

MTV Europe Music Awards, 2014

Nicki Minaj hosted the 20th anniversary of this epic music event, which brought together the likes of U2, Ed Sheeran and Kiesza at the Hydro. The biggest winners on the night - One Direction, who won three awards – were not at the ceremony but thanked viewers via video link from Australia. Highlights included US singer Ariana Grande making her entrance by floating bubble chair, and selected audience members held in specially-constructed ‘cages’ overlooking the main arena.

Glasgow Times: World Pipe Band Championship

WORLD PIPE BAND CHAMPIONSHIPS, 1986

Since 1986 (with the exception of last year’s coronavirus call-off), the World Pipe Band Championships have been held in Glasgow, attracting up to 240 individual pipe bands, approximately 60 of which are from other countries. Based around Glasgow Green, the event is a much-loved part of the city’s cultural calendar and the number of spectators has increased to around 40,000.