Christmas might be a distant memory for most, but residents in Glasgow’s city centre are reminded of the festive season every single day.
Almost two month on from Christmas and locals are still being treated to the festive spirit, with seasonal lights and decorations still hanging overhead in the city centre.
The delay in the removal of the lights has left Glaswegians flummoxed, with some voicing concerns that the council had overlooked the issue.
Peter McDade tweeted: “What’s going on in Glasgow!? Royal Exchange Square used to be beautiful and vibrant, now it’s a dump. It’s February and the Christmas lights are still up. #glasgowdeservesbetter ”
Graham Watson agreed, replying: “It's terrible. Glasgow's starting to feel like an abandoned city.”
Martin McFayden added: “A friend of mine was visiting Glasgow today and sent me a photo of George Square and the first thing I noticed was the Christmas lights still up, in February…what’s happening.”
Councillor Alison Thewliss replied on social media to complaints from angry locals.
She wrote: “It would appear to be a running battle unfortunately - if you can email me any instances you see, I'll certainly report them in.”
But council bosses have confirmed that the lights will remain in place until March following a request from a film production company, who will cover the late removal costs.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said, “The George Square Christmas Lights remain in place as the council received a request to keep them up for filming.
“They are scheduled to be removed around 10 March. Normally, they would be taken down reasonably early in January.
"There has been no additional cost – the lights were switched off over 5/6 January and will remain off until the dates for filming purposes I referred to.
"The production will cover the contractor costs for late removal of the lighting features."
It comes after it was revealed that Glasgow City Council spent the most on Christmas decorations in the UK.
Data from a Freedom of Information request published by Forbes Advisor in November found that the council spent around £663 on public decorations per 1,000 residents.
The report shows that Glasgow City Council spend an average of £400,000 a year illuminating the city with Christmas lights.
