Fanfare please, it's official! Hamilton now has its own open air entertainment venue - the new town square!

The £3 million square was officially opened in June with a flourish of entertainment provided by local schoolchildren, community groups, professional entertainers and local businesses.

Councillor Eddie McAvoy, leader of South Lanarkshire Council, said: "This is a fantastic new resource for the people of Hamilton and visitors to the town. It's a beautifully designed square that acts as both a link between the town centre and the Palace Grounds as well as a meeting place for local people.

"The square was also built to be an outdoor entertainment venue and we hope it will be well used in the years to come."

Hamilton saw the birth of its new square in 1996 when Ferguson McIlveen Consultants won an international design competition to create a new and much needed civic space for the public within Hamilton town centre.

Forming the main pedestrian link between the existing town centre and the Palace Grounds development, the new square is the cornerstone of the Palace Grounds project.

Work began on August 4, 1997 and the square, with its sweeping stairs and artworks, soon began to take shape.

The town square is of a very high quality, with only natural materials such as Caithness stone, granite and Italian porphory being used in its formation. Major works of art are strategically located within the square, forming an integral part of its design and adding vitality and interest to the area.

It is envisaged that the square, with its variety of surrounding uses, will be active for 18 hours a day, will link in with the activities of the adjacent Arts Centre and become an outdoor entertainment venue catering for everything from buskers to jugglers for audiences of approximately 500.

The town square was funded by South Lanarkshire Council and its partners, Lanarkshire Development Agency, the Scottish Arts Council, Strathclyde European Partnership, the European Regional Development Fund and the private sector.