Licensees invited to compete for Best Bar None Glasgow awards

Glasgow’s pubs, clubs and specialist entertainment venues are getting set to compete in the city’s Best Bar None awards, with registration for the annual contest opening at a special event this week.

Licensees are being urged to see if they have what it takes to earn BBN’s Gold, Silver or Bronze accolades for good practice and innovation, with new entrants in particular invited to get involved.

Strathclyde University’s Student Union, The Venue, on Richmond Street, will host the registration event on Wednesday, April 24th starting at 9am. Speakers will include Lise Fisher of Glasgow City Council, which runs BBN Glasgow, and BBN Scotland development officer, Mark Armstrong.

Participating venues will be inspected by an independent assessor, and judged on their efforts around the ‘Prevention of Crime & Disorder’, ‘Securing Public Safety’, ‘Prevention of Public Nuisance’, ‘Promotion of Public Health’ and ‘the Protection of Children from Harm’.

The results will be unveiled at a presentation ceremony later this year, and the premises which win the Overall Gold awards in each category will then go on to compete in the national awards.

Ms Fisher is hoping that applications will pour in: “Advance interest is really high this year, particularly from new applicants, which is exciting.

“There is some outstanding work being done by the licensed trade in Glasgow and Best Bar None offers a valuable opportunity to share good practice, learn from industry peers and benefit from our free training sessions.

“The calibre of entrants in Glasgow’s awards are always very high and we work with premises to continually improve practices,” said Fisher. “Glasgow venues always do well in the national awards too. This was especially so last year, when Glasgow premises lifted four out of nine national awards.

“We’d encourage venues old and new to come to the BBN Glasgow launch and find out how membership can help their business.”

Best Bar None Glasgow has been running since 2005 and is delivered on behalf of Glasgow’s Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) in partnership with Glasgow City Council, Retailers Against Crime, Police Scotland and the Licensed Trade.

Members of BBN Glasgow benefit from regular training on topics such as stewarding, crime scene preservation, drug awareness, responsible drinking and recognising / protecting vulnerable people.

Licensees who are unable to attend the 2024 registration launch, can also apply online at BBNGlasgowRegistration