FROM comedy and music to art and vintage style the Merchant City Festival is off to a flying start.

More than 100,000 visitors are expected to pack the streets around the Old Fruitmarket for 100 different events.

And the curtain is also about to rise on the highly-anticipated Vintage Festival, brought to Glasgow for the first time by designer Wayne Hemingway.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, chairman of the Merchant City Festival, said: "This is one of my favourite weekends of the year.

"The festival is thrilling, inspiring, often moving and always good fun. In short it is a bit like our great city."

The 12th annual Merchant City Festival will run until Sunday and host the Vintage Festival, a Commonwealth Celebration, international street theatre, music, dance, visual arts, comedy and family events.

Vintage Festival co founder Wayne Hemingway said: "At Vintage HQ we are all getting excited about making our Scottish debut. It seems no time at all since we announced Vintage Glasgow would be the highlight of Merchant City Festival 2013.

"The City Halls and Old Fruitmarket look amazing, the DJs' records are ready to spin, the hair and beauty stylists have their tools to hand. Vintage is ready to party."

Among the highlights is a massive Commonwealth inspired installation.

The Street Rope Factory is an intricate web of coloured ropes representing the 71 sovereign states of the Commonwealth that will come together as one large map, which participants can walk through.

For more information follow @MerchCityFest on Twitter or see www.merchantcityfestival.com to download the full programme.

catriona.stewart@ eveningtimes.co.uk