Significant restrictions will come into place tomorrow as the city gears up for the inaugural Simplyhealth Great Aberdeen Run taking place this weekend.
Union Terrace Gardens will close to the public tomorrow evening at 7pm to allow for the set-up of Celebrate Aberdeen on Saturday, followed by the road run on Sunday.
All gates leading to the gardens will then be kept closed until 8am on Tuesday, August 29 to allow for the dismantling of equipment.
Signage will be in place on entrance points and other key areas in the park.
The weekend of events will launch on Saturday with Celebrate Aberdeen – highlighting the third sector in Aberdeen – which features a parade down Union Street, as well as a host of music performances to showcase local talent.
Sunday will see Union Terrace Gardens transformed into the athletes’ village for the Great Aberdeen Run.
The two distances being tackled by the runners are 10km and a half-marathon. Both will start and finish on Union Street and will take in the sights through Fittie, the sea-front, Old Aberdeen and Bridge of Don.
Temporary road surfacing will also be installed on the Upperkirkgate to allow those taking part in the event to enjoy the view of the iconic Marischal College on their tour of the city’s most famous sites and landmarks.
The village will be open to runners and members of the public from 8am on Sunday and will feature live music performances and charity stalls.
The weekend of festivities is the latest in a series of collaborative cultural events for Aberdeen City Council, supported by the Aberdeen 365 event strategy as a core project of the city centre masterplan.
Organisers hope the event will help attract up to 70,000 people to the city, including some of the world’s top athletes.
The events, organised by The Great Run Company, are now found in over 15 locations including the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run in Glasgow, the Great Edinburgh Run and the Great North Run in Newcastle – the world’s biggest half marathon with 57,000 entrants.
For more information on the run routes visit: www.greatrun.org/great-aberdeen-run