With a number of its period features retained, including the lofty vaulted roof, cast iron columns and balcony, the Old Fruitmarket offers a unique setting for a wide range of events. This spectacular venue can hold 1,525 people standing, 450 cabaret style (plus 300 standing), or 600 theatre style (plus 300 standing). We have bars available throughout the venue, and close by in Merchant City, a whole host of restaurants and cafes exist for a bite to eat before the performance. During the refurbishment, the stage was moved from one end of the auditorium to the other to allow one common entrance to be created for both the Old Fruitmarket and City Halls. The listed ironmongery and greengrocers’ signs of the original fruitmarket have been retained and refurbished – as its name suggests, up until the 1970s this was where you’d be more likely to find stalls of fruit and vegetables on offer than entertainment. Adjoining the venue and within this complex are the City Halls, which includes the Grand Hall, an acoustically calibrated 1,036 capacity ‘shoebox’-style performance space dating back to 1841. It’s Glasgow’s oldest purpose-built performance and meeting space, and today home to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
