On the Road Again – Celtic Park and Oasis concerts in May 2027 | OneFootball

After weeks of speculation, it’s been confirmed that a series of five Oasis concerts will take place next year at Celtic Park…

Celtic Park ahead of the Celtic v AC Milan in a pre-season friendly at Celtic Park on July 25, 2026. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images)

This is perhaps no great surprise. At various times, the band’s Gallagher brothers have been guests at the ground, with their music reverberating around the stadium, perhaps most famously after beating Rangers 6-2 in 2000.

This is a reminder that Celtic Park has been used for multiple purposes in its time, including other sports, religious gatherings and music shows too.

The Bhoys’ current home location first opened in 1892. From the very start, it was a venue designed with more than football in mind.

Back in the 1800s, football clubs were focused on more than just this sport. A great many sides were also involved in activities such as running, cycling, cricket and many others too.

When this Celtic Park venue was opened in August 1892, it was not football that first drew the crowds. Instead, an athletics contest was the maiden event, enticing spectators across two days of activity. It was a week later until football was first played.

The athletics competition was not simply a one-off. Each year, the Celtic Park Sports would take place before the start of the football season, a common practice for other teams too and something that continued until at least after World War One.

At other times, it was not just football or athletics that could be watched at Celtic Park; numerous other sports have attracted crowds to Glasgow’s east end.

Cycling was an early favourite of people involved with Celtic. A cinder track around the park was used for this, and in 1897, the World Cycling championships was held at Celtic Park. This continued up until World War One, after which the cycling bug no longer swept up those in Parkhead.

The World War One era also saw other sports, including a baseball game in late-1918 featuring members of the American armed forces. This same period witnessed boxing matches in Parkhead, with other such contests happening until after the Second World War too.

Different team sports have also been witnessed on Celtic’s pitch. Rugby matches were held as recently as 2019 and also in the early-1900s. Back then, one player was said to have impressed manager Willie Maley to the extent that he tried to sign him for the football team!

Sports involving sticks have also taken place at different times. Hockey, shinty and hurling have happened at Celtic Park, and some GAA games too.

In addition to all of this, racing around Celtic Park has been known too – but not just running. Instead, a Speedway contest involving motorbikes took place in 1928, and greyhound racing was occasionally held in the 1920s.

A rather slower racing example was something called ‘Pedestrianism’. In essence, this was speed walking and it happened at Celtic Park in the 1890s, principally for betting purposes.

And whilst we will mainly think of the Celtic men’s team playing at Celtic Park, women’s games have been held there too.

In recent years, numerous Celtic Women’s games have taken place at the men’s usual venue, the most important of these acting as a bridge between the men’s and women’s teams.

In 2024, Celtic Women played Hibs, with the Ghirls’ team needing a win to secure their first league title. In the very last minute, Amy Gallacher – great-granddaughter of Celtic legend Patsy – netted to give her team their first ever championship.

In addition, there was also a match during World War One which attracted around 8000 spectators. This involved the England and Scotland women’s teams, drawn from munitions factory workers.

When it comes to sport, Celtic Park has been used for more than just competitive action.

In 1999, the ground hosted the opening ceremony for that year’s European Special Olympic games, which was taking place in locations around the west of Scotland. 32,000 people attended, most famously Don Johnson, star of TV’s Miami Vice.

The ground must have performed well. As well as special ‘thank you’ to Celtic from the organisers, by 2014 Celtic Park was again used for a similar event.

The Commonwealth Games were being held in Glasgow and again, the Bhoys’ home was used for opening and closing ceremonies. 40,000 attendees – including the Queen – watched events such as fireworks, light shows and even aerial flybys.

As well as all of these sporting attractions, Celtic Park has witnessed various other types of activity too, including concerts. Going back to the 1970s, the sounds of numerous world renowned bands have echoed around Parkhead.

One big example came in 1976. The Who brought their ‘Put the boot in’ concert to Celtic Park, with the stage being placed in the main stand and fans standing on the pitch. Tens of thousands cheered as various groups – including the Alex Harvey Band – entertained them.

Tommy Callaghan at Celtic FC photoshoot, Barrowfield, July 1975. Photo Celtic Shorts

Given that one of The Who’s biggest albums was Tommy, Celtic Park seems an apt location given the adulation given to Celtic ‘Tommys’ such as Burns and Callaghan.

There were no more concerts for a few years but then a flurry of famous voices came to Celtic Park in the 1990s.

In June 1992, Prince brought his ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ Tour to Glasgow with 35,000 of his own fans cheering him on. The happiest person there was Siobhan Fahey of the band Shakespeare’s Sister who acted as a support. Fahey was a Celtic fan and talked about how proud her Dad was of seeing her play on the Bhoys’ home turf.

Two weeks later, it was Canadian rocker Brian Adams’ turn to come to Parkhead. This was part of his ‘Waking up the neighbours’ tour and yet again it proved to be a big attraction.

It was the same a year afterwards when Irish super group U2 played two nights at Celtic Park during their ‘Zooropa’ tour. The famous music magazine Q later voted these nights as some of the best gigs of all time.

U2 ‘Zooropa’ tour 1993 at Celtic Park

It’s not clear whether or not Celtic fans made up a large portion of the crowd at these events. But given that Celtic’s early-90s experiences were otherwise depressing, they were perhaps the only time you could be sure of being happy with a Celtic Park performance.

By 1997, another band played at Celtic Park – but one that might surprise some people. Marti Pellow, lead singer of Scottish band Wet Wet Wet, was known for his Rangers allegiances, but that did not stop him bringing his band to Celtic’s home.

Even the concert’s title acknowledged this as it was called ‘Playing away at home’. Although given that Simple Minds – well known Celtic supporters – had previously played at Ibrox, it was not perhaps such a big shock.

And another band have also played on the Parkhead pitch, but not everyone at Celtic was happy about this.

The Wolfe Tones are well known for their Irish folk music but also so-called ‘rebel songs’. In 1987 they wrote ‘The Celtic Symphony’ to celebrate Celtic’s centenary.

They were given permission to film a video for this at Celtic Park, something which led to controversy and criticism in the Scottish media.

Away from music – and going back as far as World War One – there have been some especially unusual scenes on the Celtic Park turf.

During the war, football clubs were at the heart of attempts to recruit men to sign up and join the military. At Celtic Park, this included posters, tannoy announcements and sign-up events on the pitch.

Perhaps the most surprising experience involved the ground being used for military displays when live ammunition and explosives were used to recreate the experiences on the war’s frontlines.

Away from war, and given Celtic’s historic origins, it is no surprise to find that religious ceremonies have also taken place on the Celtic Park turf.

On various occasions, especially after World War Two, open air Catholic masses have taken place at the Bhoys’ home, attended by tens of thousands of devotees.

It’s worth noting that this is something which has also happened at other Scottish grounds, including East End Park in Dunfermline which has hosted masses and other Catholic events.

However, it is not simply Catholic events that have been held in Celtic Park. One of most famous evangelical preachers of the twentieth century was Billy Graham. He was a Baptist minister and well-known for his fiery speeches and large-scale ceremonies.

In June 1991, Billy Graham’s five ‘Mission Scotland’ services attracted a total of 150,000 people. As well as listening to Graham’s preaching, those people also heard music from guests such as Cliff Richard.

Premier League – Manchester United, ManU v Manchester City 13th September 2026 – Premier League – Oasis musician Noel Gallagher celebrates Manchester City’s victory – Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside. IMAGO

Football is obviously the number one event that takes place at Celtic Park, and singing is at the heart of the very biggest games. This has included some loud renditions of ‘Roll with it’ by Oasis.

Now the Gallagher brothers will have their own chance to make Glasgow’s east end rock to their beat. But it won’t be the first time that Celtic Park has drawn crowds for something other than football.

Matthew Marr

If you want to learn more about Celtic history, you can buy a new book: Green, white and silverware by Matthew Marr. This tells the story of Celtic’s less well-known trophy wins and is released on 3 October. For pre-order information, click HERE.

Green, white and silverware by Matthew Marr

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