Dancing bricks and a feisty flashmob in George Square signalled the launch of a new fundraising campaign for the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice yesterday.

Buy a Brick, supported by the Evening Times, heralds the final two-year push to raise the remaining £2.8 million needed for the hospice’s new home.

Alongside yesterday’s takeover of George Square, led by entertainer Edward Reid, a civic reception inside the City Chambers marked the latest phase of the ambitious £21m campaign, which kicked off in 2012.

Glasgow City Council has donated the land for the new building in Bellahouston Park, which will replace the hospice’s current home in Carlton Place on the banks of the Clyde.

Read more: City hospice launches final stage of Brick by Brick appeal in Glasgow

Speaking at the civic reception yesterday, hosted by Lord Provost Sadie Docherty, hospice chief executive Rhona Baillie said: “After more than 30 years of adapting and adjusting, while continuing to offer recognised gold-standard care in our current home, we need a new building in which to look after our patients and their families, and in doing so we will become a world leader in the most advanced techniques in hospice and palliative care giving.”

The hospice will be the first in Scotland to allow young people to make the transition from children’s services into adult care.

Lord Provost Sadie Docherty, who is president of the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, said: “This stage in the PPWH appeal is a significant and emotional milestone for many of us as we play our part in history – helping to raise money to build a new and modern facility in Glasgow.

“As Lord Provost of Glasgow and President of the hospice, I am thrilled that Glasgow City Council continues to play its part in its important story - a story of a hospice so highly regarded and valued by those who are cared for in it and by those who work in it.

“It’s exciting because we’re entering a new era in the care of the terminally ill.”

Hospice staff, patients and their families attended the civic reception as an exciting new advertising campaign, including television and social media spots, was unveiled.

Read more: City hospice launches final stage of Brick by Brick appeal in Glasgow

Bill Darroch, 76, of Croftfoot, was a day services patient at the hospice for two years after surgery and chemotherapy to treat cancer.

He said: "I don’t think we could have managed without the hospice. It’s not just there for the person who is ill, it's there for the whole family."

Work starts this month and patients will move in during 2018.

To support the new campaign, simply text BRICK to 70660 to donate £5 or visit www.ppwh.org.uk/donate.