Glasgow Venues Vie to Become Best Bar None

City pubs, clubs and licensed premises are gearing up for the industry event of the year - Glasgow's Best Bar None Awards.

Entries are invited for the prestigious annual awards which celebrate best practice among the licensed trade sector.

More than 80 venues entered last year's event and a record number of 54 Gold awards were presented at the ceremony in the Grand Central Hotel. The 2015 awards night was hosted by TV presenter Angus Purden and organisers hope this year's honours will be even more hotly contested.

The accolades are presented in recognition of the work venues do to enhance public safety and customer care in the city.

Last year, overall awards went to Campus, Queen Margaret Union, Yates, Deoch An Dorus, Allison Arms, Café Source Too and Blythswood Square Hotel. But who will take the top awards this year? Entries are invited from April 20th and categories include Community Pubs, Specialist Entertainment Venues, Late Night Venues, Hotel Bars and Restaurant Bars.

Premises will be inspected by an independent assessor. They will be 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.

A spokeswoman for Community Safety Glasgow which organises the awards, said: "Last year's awards were outstanding and we want 2016's to be even better. There is always a healthy amount of friendly rivalry between venues as the awards are highly coveted but there is also a very serious side to this initiative. Glasgow's licensees contribute hugely to the city's thriving night-time economy and the awards recognise the power of work which management and staff do promoting safety and responsible drinking throughout the year. Their efforts (along with partners such as Community Safety Glasgow, Police Scotland and Glasgow Street Pastors) help to ensure Glasgow is a fun and safe place to socialise. The awards are displayed with pride in venues and enable customers to recognise premises which have distinguished themselves by striving to achieve exceptional standards of customer care."

Best Bar None Glasgow was developed in partnership with Glasgow City Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, Glasgow City Council, Community Safety Glasgow, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue and the Scottish Late Night Operators Association. The initiative has since been replicated by other Scottish cities. It organises regular training seminars (in conjunction with the Tennents Academy) for venues on topics such as stewarding, crime scene preservation, drug prevention, responsible drinking and recognising / protecting vulnerable people.

Glasgow's contest is sponsored by Diageo, Heineken, Molson Coors, Tennents, Chivas Brothers and Maxxium UK.

The overall winners of Glasgow's Best Bar None awards go on to compete in the national awards.

Venues can log on to www.bbnglasgow.com for further details.