American journalists covering COP26 are confusing Edinburgh and Glasgow and the internet is having a ball

World leaders, activists and scientists are arriving – or are trying to overcome serious delays on the railways – in Glasgow, Scotland, for the monumentally important climate conference that is COP26. But some seem to be a little confused.

The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (known as, yes, COP26) was originally scheduled for November 2020. With the reschedule, attendees should have had a lot of time to prepare and plan.

Yet some may have skipped brushing up on their geography of Scotland, with some pretty high-profile journalists confusing the COP26 host city with another one, just 47 miles down the road.

Many were perplexed about what CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer was doing in what is very recognisably, Edinburgh, not Glasgow.

“I’m now reporting from Edinburgh in Scotland where 20,000 world leaders and delegates have gathered for the COP26 Climate Summit,” he announced excitedly to his 1.7 million twitter followers.

“COP, by the way, stands for ‘Conference of the Parties.’ It’s the 26th time they have gathered to discuss and take action on this critical issue,” he continued, demonstrating he had done his homework.

But of course Twitter was on hand to pool their insight and knowledge on Scottish geography, with user @stucoates replying with a map, handily illustrated with large red arrows pointing to Edinburgh in the east, and Glasgow to the west.

Though it seemed unclear whether Blitzer was aware that he was in a different city to the climate change conference, or whether he made an editorial decision that Edinburgh’s impressive castle would be a more aesthetically pleasing backdrop.

And of course it was an opportunity for corporate Twitter to show that they, too, know how to crack a joke at someone else’s expense.

“Should’ve gone to Glasgow,” tweeted high street opticians Specsavers, continuing to milk a joke that’s been running for over twenty years.

Reuters’ White House correspondent Jeff Mason was on hand to report on US President Joe Biden‘s arrival – very exciting given that his attendance was only confirmed two weeks ago.

“Arrived in Glasgow,” he tweeted, alongside a photo of US President Biden stepping out from the Air Force One plane at Edinburgh airport.

“You’re about 47 miles from Glasgow Jeff” replied one helpful Twitter user, with Edinburgh airport offering a friendly welcome to Scotland’s historic capital.

“Jeff, you have no idea what you’ve done… Welcome to Edinburgh, and Scotland!” the official account of Edinburgh Airport cheerily replied.

President Biden and others arriving at Edinburgh airport will then have to travel to Glasgow – over an hour by car or around 45 minutes by train. The second being a viable option after strike action which threatened to cripple rail services across Scotland during COP26 was called off just in time.

There were also complaints about the pronunciation of Glasgow, as reporters from around the world discuss the city and length.

“Dear American and other friends -it’s pronounced Glas-go not glasgow. Watching everyone get it wrong on US news channels is painful.” wrote journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy, in a tweet that reads as helpfully as “It’s leviOsa, not levioSA!” for any for anyone not acquainted with the Glaswegian dialect.

Stay tuned for essential reporting on the ground from our environmental reporter Sarah Wilson who is, handily, in Glasgow.

While you’re here…

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In partnership with Aberdeen Standard Investments, the Multi-Asset Climate Solutions (MACS) Fund actively scours the globe for companies that get at least half of their revenue from climate change solutions and other key environmental challenges. Currently, less than five per cent of the world’s companies fit the bill.

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Learn more about further Big Issue work for Future Generations, through John Bird’s Future Generations Bill currently working through Westminster, see bigissue.com/today-for-tomorrow