I HAD never seen Scotland play at a World Cup until last night.
I only really grasped the history of us being on the brink of qualifying a few hours before the Denmark game at Hampden last November, in a cartoonish “oh, right…” way, when older colleagues in the office explained the gravity of the match. I remember feeling a bit guilty that the significance of it had almost completely passed me by, and I was determined not to let that happen again.
So I – like 5500 others – decided to mark the moment of Steve Clarke’s men walking out on the world stage for the first time in 28 years by heading to another piece of history on home soil.
The OVO Hydro in Glasgow became Scotland’s largest fanzone, from 10pm on Saturday night until 4am on Sunday morning.
“I like to have mad ideas,” Dominic McKay, chief executive of the Scottish Events Campus and the OVO Hydro, tells me 20 minutes before kick-off.
McKay is the former chief executive of Celtic Football Club and spent 13 years as chief operating officer and executive director at Scottish Rugby. In that time he helped more than double Scottish Rugby’s commercial revenues, making fan‑focused sporting and entertainment events a core part of the strategy. It only makes sense that someone with that blend of experience would dream up an idea as wild as this for a 2am game.
“I thought, ‘I’ll sense-check it with the SFA [the Scottish Football Association],’ and they said, ‘That would be great, we’d love you to do that,’” he says. “And then I thought, ‘I’ll sense-check it with our team internally,’ and once they got over the shock of it, they said it would be a fabulous thing for us to be part of.”
“The great thing about delivering it is it is our team that is producing it, our team that are delivering it,” he adds. “Normally we host big acts and it’s their team that come in and make the magic happen, whereas it’s our team that are making the magic happen tonight, and that has been a really creative experience.”
The OVO Hydro team were on top form throughout the night. I did wonder how messy things might get – folk were likely arriving after a few drinks already and then staying on until 4am. We were in Hogmanay territory here, with a 5000‑people party.
With safety in mind, designated drivers went free with every ticket bought, and there was free parking given the late finish.
“There’s been an enormous amount of planning that’s gone into it,” McKay says. “We have world‑class people on our campus who lead the delivery of these events, and that goes all the way through to thinking about security and managing that. I think it’s a triumph.
“It’s a triumph for Scotland to get to the World Cup, but it’s a triumph for Scots to embrace that with so much joy. To have over 5,000 people come out early, have a music festival beforehand and then watch the game says a lot about our country, and I’m all about positivity.”
McKay wants people to come together as a nation and enjoy more of these occasions in future – and he’s already pledging to do more.
A festival‑style concourse and music festival
Bucket hats, face painting, football competitions – the festival‑style concourse was teeming with fans from all over the country.
Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity ran a keepie‑uppie challenge, while others tried to match the height of Scott McTominay’s legendary overhead kick – 2.53 metres – and a gaming truck inside the arena had people playing Fifa on Xbox.
In the centre of the Hydro floor, around 60 tables of six gave dozens of fans front‑row access to the 20‑metre screen installed specially for the night.
RuMac and Mànran took to the stage several times during the build‑up, introduced by Hoolie in the Hydro organiser, broadcaster and musician Gary Innes. They were joined by the great Dougie MacLean and Donnie Munro.
Presenters Des Clarke and Beth Wallace hyped up the crowd ahead of kick-off, and provided pre‑match and half‑time analysis alongside commentator Rob MacLean and former Scotland player Charlie Mulgrew.
The mood was strikingly inclusive and family‑friendly. The tables in the centre of the room visually and practically turned the arena into a fanzone, and by 1am the seating sections were filling up. Kick‑off was looming.
The game
Everyone was a bag of nerves. The energy was palpable and those who had only moments before been bouncing as Munro led Loch Lomond were now staring at the screen with trepidation written all over their faces.
Andy Robertson appearing in the tunnel before leading the team out drew huge cheers. The Scotland flag rolling out on the pitch? More cheers. The opening notes of Flower of Scotland? Forget it.
Fans at the OVO Hydro react to John McGinn scoring Scotland’s first goal at the World Cup 🏴 pic.twitter.com/btMegHn0p3
— Laura Pollock (@laura_pollock_) June 14, 2026
Watching footage coming in from our reporter on the ground, Donald Erskine, of fans belting out the anthem in Boston and those at Foxborough Stadium doing us proud on the world stage, it genuinely felt like our moment.
The whistle blew and, after a nail‑biting 28 minutes, the arena erupted as John McGinn’s goal finally broke Scotland’s 28‑year World Cup drought. Drinks flew into the air and it was hugs all round as Scotland took the lead.
The tension never really lifted in the second half as an eager Haiti side pushed for an equaliser, but when the final whistle went, thousands of supporters roared and jumped in unison. I don’t want to imagine the scene if we’d lost.
Fans kept chanting as they celebrated the win, dancing on the floor of the venue before spilling out into the sunrise.
Walking home, the streets were dotted with fans wearing kilts and Scotland strips, bleary‑eyed but satisfied. I passed a basement flat blaring Sweet Caroline, people still jumping up and down in celebration half an hour after full-time.
It struck me that the event was bigger than a 1-0 win over Haiti. For a few surreal hours in the middle of the night, the Ovo Hydro had turned into a living room, for a long‑talked‑about “moment” into something you could actually see, hear and feel.
Whatever happens next in this World Cup, I won’t have to rely on colleagues to explain what it means – I was there, wide awake at 4am, when Scotland finally said "we're back".
