Stellar year of successful events in Renfrewshire
It's been another successful year of events in Renfrewshire which attracted more than 120,000 attendees and generated more than £4.4million for the local economy.
Article Source: Renfrewshire Council
Last Updated: 29 December 2025 14:12
The events programme included 14 free to attend events across the area, expanding the programme for the first time across Erskine and Linwood, as well as the major events, Paisley Food and Drink Festival and Paisley Halloween Festival, all helping position the area as a great place to visit, work, learn and live. The year-round programme of events also provided more than 7,000 opportunities for local children, young people and community groups to take part in the range of events.
The success of the 2025 schedule aligns with the vision set out in Renfrewshire’s Events Strategy 2025 – 2028 to deliver and enable high- quality events offering positive and memorable experiences for residents and visitors and contribute positively to the lives of local people and the local economy.
A key aspect of the events strategy is collaborating and connecting with partners. This year saw the creation of the Renfrewshire Events Partnership Group which includes members from businesses, community, cultural and educational institutions from across the region to co-design and programme events in Renfrewshire.
This resulted in the annual Christmas lights switch on events, which cover Paisley, Renfrew and Johnstone, being expanded to include Erskine and Linwood. The combined attendee number for all the Christmas lights switch -on events was more than 25,000 totalling £808,611 for the local economy.
Of attendees surveyed at this year’s events 87% agreed they are proud of their local town’s culture and heritage and 86% agreed the events in their local town make them feel proud.
Leader of Renfrewshire Council, Councillor Iain Nicolson, said: “The events delivered in Renfrewshire are a key part of our cultural regeneration journey. We’ve always understood the positive impact great local events can have on people’s lives whether it be through actively taking part or just coming along as a visitor.
“Our events programme helps support a real sense of civic pride in our communities and I’m happy to see how many local people, groups and local businesses have taken an active role in making 2025 another great success story for Renfrewshire.”
More than 2,000 opportunities were created for people to participate in Paisley Halloween Festival alone, covering everything from attending workshops and making props to volunteering and performing at the event. Tens of thousands of visitors descended on the town to see more than 400 performers and community groups take part in the popular Halloween parade, inspired by popular children’s books and movies, on each of the two nights.
Volunteers are also a vital driving force behind the success of Renfrewshire events. More than 100 volunteers from across Renfrewshire have supported this year’s programme covering a range of roles including radio room assistant, accessibility assistant and media volunteer.
Amy Baillie used to attend Renfrewshire events when she was younger and now studies events in college. Amy was a volunteer at a number of this year’s winter events.
She said: “I loved being able to go around and see all the children at the events having fun and being able to talk to Santa and get pictures with him in the grotto. Being able to help with all these events has given me more experience for my events management course and helped me learn how events work from planning to it happening on the day.”
Renfrewshire’s 2025 events programme included Paisley Food and Drink Festival which saw the highest number of food traders take part, the opening of the Renfrew Bridge, Barshaw Park and Renfrew gala days, Sma’ Shot Day and Renfrew Pipe Band Competition.
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