HISTORY SQUARED
The Square was laid out in 1781 and named after King George III. It was part of a New Town layout similar to that of Edinburgh but was just a muddy hollow in its early days. Things changed after the opening of Queen Street station in 1842 and, after having been a private garden for plush townhouses, it became a public space. In 1883, seating was laid out for dignitaries attending the October 6 ceremony for the laying of the City Chambers’ foundation stone. Most striking of the statues in the Square is the 80ft central column. The city, and indeed the nation, celebrates in style in the Square with one of the most memorable concerts marking Glasgow’s year as City of Culture in 1990. The Big Day saw acts like Deacon Blue and Texas perform to a quarter of a million in the city, with Sheena Easton notably pelted by the crowd at Glasgow Green.
Millions more tuned in on Channel 4 and George Square was packed as Hothouse Flowers and Wet, Wet,
Wet entertained. Three years after his release from prison, Nelson Mandela visited Glasgow. During his incarceration he was offered the Freedom of the City and, just a year before he became South African president, he came to offer his thanks. During the visit in October 1993, a 15,000-strong crowd gathered in George Square and he told them how, though he was physically denied freedom at home, Glasgow refused to accept apartheid and declared freedom – he then joined them in a dance!