About Us

Hey there! We are Scotiacon, Scotland's first and currently only furry convention. We hold annual events at the Crowne Plaza and Hilton Garden Inn hotels in Glasgow. But we didn't start here, we have over fifteen years history of events held, attendees entertained, and charities supported, so join us as we kaiju-eye-level view into our past.

Newly Hatched

In the beginning there was Scotland, Irn Bru, a few Tunnock's Tea Cakes, and a dream of a furry convention. Then, in 2011 those dreams came to fruition and Scotiacon was born, located at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Inverness (now the Mercure Inverness). About 50 furs joined us for that first event, which helped us lay the foundation for everything that Scotiacon would become.

Three years later and Scotiacon had outgrown its Inverness home, so the decision was taken to bid a fond farewell and move to the Mercure Livingston hotel near Edinburgh for our 2014 event where we raised £655 for that year's charity, World Horse Welfare. This gave the convention room to grow and by 2015 we had tripled our attendee numbers to over 150 and raised £2,089 for the Scottish Owl Centre.

That rise in attendee numbers would become a theme in itself over the next few years and, as much as we came to love our second home in Livingston we eventually outgrew that venue as well. Eventually, with attendee numbers reaching almost 500 in 2019 and a charity total of £3,500 for the Five Sisters Zoo, we announced the news; Scotiacon would move again.

To move to the new venue, the convention had to move from a November date to one in February. That didn't leave enough time to plan for an event in 2020 as it was only three months away. So an announcement was made; "There will be no Scotiacon in 2020".

Well, that turned out to be pretty prophetic, didn't it?

Growing Up

In 2022, as pandemic restrictions and lockdowns eased, we returned for the first event at our new venue, the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow. This was our tenth convention and we celebrated in style with our Disco Fever theme, welcoming over 500 attendees and raising £11,650 for Sunny Harbour Cat & Kitten Rescue.

That new beginning led to even bigger plans and our next convention in 2023 we welcomed 955 attendees back to Glasgow for our biggest event yet, a gaming themed convention where we finally brought our mascot, Wallace to life with his very own fursuit. You might have seen him around our convention, or maybe even elsewhere! He does like to travel around a bit! Our attendees also raised an amazing £41,152 for Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Centre.

In 2024 we returned to Glasgow once again for a healthy dose of Prehistoric Panic and, with the help of 1,170 attendees, unleashed dinosaur-related chaos on the unsuspecting Glaswegian population. We have it on good authority that reports of dinosaurs devouring onlookers in George Square were greatly exaggerated. What wasn’t exaggerated, though, was the £22,500 that we raised for our charity, the Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust.

In 2025 we grew again as 1,681 attendees joined us back at the Crowne Plaza to enjoy a weekend of Magical Mayhem with all manner of fantastical imaginings and spectacular creatures on display. We welcomed back Sunny Harbour Cat & Kitten Rescue as our charity after they were very badly impacted by the winter storms in the months prior and were thrilled to be able to support their recovery with £16,000 raised over the course of the event. They’ll also be back for a third time in 2026 as we look to continue supporting their recovery and important work.

For 2026 we expanded our reach to incorporate both the Crowne Plaza and Hilton Garden Inn, running the event across both hotels for a Howl at High Noon and a dramatic showdown in the Old West. With 2,335 attendees it was a timely expansion! Sunny Harbour Cat & Kitten Rescue joined us for a third time as our charity, raising another £16,000 for them to further support their recovery and development.

Beyond the Horizon

So what’s next? In 2027 we’ll be stomping back to Glasgow to be Massive in the Metropolis! We look forward to inviting everyone back to enjoy our biggest celebration of furries and furry culture yet.

After that? Assuming there’s anything left of Glasgow after the kaijus clear out we'll be back for our sixteenth convention in 2028 which is already promising to be very special indeed.

But that’s a massive monster-sized stride forwards. Before we get there, we have a monster mash to plan, some buildings to kaiju-proof, and shelters to prepare! We hope you will join us in February 2027!