‘Storm’ heading for Glasgow as giant puppet returns for Cop26

A giant puppet of a sea goddess, made entirely of recycled materials, will walk through Glasgow during the Cop26 climate change summit.

The 10-metre puppet, called Storm is just one of the cultural attractions taking place to tie in with the global gathering.

The creation, which has oyster shells for eyes and kelp for hair, will walk through Govan on November 10.

The puppet, which previously walked through Glasgow for the Celtic Connections music festival in January 2020, has been created by performance art company Vision Mechanics.

Other events will see the Scottish Chamber Orchestra premiere its new commission, Symbiosis, in a 20-minute video on October 31, the day the summit gets under way.

Musicians from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra will stage a pop-up performance at Haymarket Station in Edinburgh on November 1 to welcome delegates to Scotland while its junior chorus will perform a selection of specially commissioned songs in the official Cop26 Green Zone the following day.

Scottish Opera has launched a new production for children, called The Last Aliens, which tells an intergalactic view of climate change, with schools able to access the production online now while live performances are planned for next year.

Schools and communities in Scotland and India have been involved in making items for an interactive art installation organised by the National Theatre of Scotland and ThinkArts, a Kolkata-based children’s organisation.

Culture minister Jenny Gilruth said: “With the world’s spotlight on Scotland, Cop26 in Glasgow is a once in a lifetime event and our cultural organisations have risen to the occasion by programming an impressive line-up of live and online activities to engage audiences at home and abroad.

“The Scottish Government is proud to support the cultural and heritage sectors as they have a major role to play in encouraging debate around environmental issues.

“Climate change affects us all and it’s heartening to see so many communities taking part in these projects to create a lasting legacy for future generations.”