Glasgow is to host the Royal National Mòd in 2026 before the baton is passed to Scottish Gaelic's Western Isles heartland the following year.

Locations for the prestigious 132-year-old celebration of the Gaelic language and culture have been revealed.

The annual festival will take place in Glasgow from October 9-17 with competitions and performances for all ages held across the week.

The city last hosted the Mòd in 2019, generating more than £3.2million for the local economy and attracting 12,000 visitors from countries world-wide including Australia, Canada and the USA.

Glasgow has strong links to the language and is home to the world's only Scots Gaelic secondary school. 

Three years from now the festival will return to the Western Isles for the seventh time, taking in venues around Stornoway between October 8-16. The festival was last held here in 2016, welcoming more than 7,500 visitors.


READ MORE:

Reasons for choosing Gaelic education have changed, says school's first learner head teacher 

Glasgow Gaelic School head says children 'supportive' of mobile phone ban 


This year's Mòd will take place in Oban with the festival due to held in Lochaber in 2025.

Julie Pearson, head of events for Glasgow Life, said: "The return of the Royal National Mod in 2026 is great news for Glasgow.

"The city is internationally renowned as an outstanding, welcoming destination for events and the Mod held here in 2019 was a resounding success, attracting competitors and audiences from far and wide and contributing significantly to our economy.

"Hosting this leading celebration of Gaelic culture reflects our commitment to supporting and and promoting creative opportunities for Gaelic."

The number of people using Gaelic has increased across Scotland despite a decline in the language's heartland, according to the latest census data.

Experts say the increase in Gaelic medium education (GME) accounts for the rise.

However, Gaelic is now a minority language in the Western Isles - while 52% reported speaking Gaelic in 2011, the figure in 2022 was 45%.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said Scottish Gaelic was part of a "modern, diverse Scotland".