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Culture overview

This section looks at attendance at cultural events, participation in cultural events, participation in sport, and the presence and support of cultural institutions and organisations. 

Infographic.

Click here to download the Culture infographic.

(Data mainly from Scottish Household Survey, 2023)

  • 81% of Glaswegians took part in some kind of cultural activity in the past 12 months. This is a decrease from 86% in 2016.
  • Reading for pleasure is the most common cultural activity of Glaswegians — 55.5% of adults read for pleasure, while 17.1% viewed a performance online and 11.8% played a musical instrument (2023)
  • Those with long term illnesses or disabilities were much less likely to participate in cultural activities (2023).
  • The most attended cultural events or cultural places visited among Glaswegians were: cinema (53%), museums (41%), live music events (39%), ar galleries (32%) and historic places (31%). 

This section also highlights participation in sporting activities.  A brief summary of sports activities is provided below.  (Data from Scottish Household Survey, 2016) 

  • Walking is by far the most popular physical activity of Glaswegians; swimming, keep fit/aerobics, running, dancing, football and weight training are also relatively common.
  • Younger adults tend to be involved in the greatest range of different activities whilst middle-aged and older adults are far more likely to walk for recreational purposes rather than take part in other activities.
  • Around 27% of Glaswegians did not participate in any sporting activity over a four week period.

Notes

The data on the Understanding Glasgow website comes from a variety of administrative sources and surveys, and the frequency of updates to these sources varies.

The Scottish Government have published a report which looks at the impact of cultural engagement and sports participation on health and satisfaction with life in Scotland. Click here to access the Healthy Attendance? report.