Glasgow draped in Americana for Indiana Jones filming

Glasgow city centre has been bedecked in Americana ahead of filming for the new Indiana Jones movie.

Star-spangled banners, bunting and vintage shop fronts have been spotted around Renfield Street, St Vincent Street and West Nile Street.

The set appears to capture 1960s New York as Apollo astronauts return home.

Harrison Ford is to reprise his role as the iconic adventurer in the Disney movie franchise alongside Pheobe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen.

The Glasgow set has been built over the last month, with hints to the plot visible to passers-by.

One sign reads "New York welcomes Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins" - a reference to the Apollo 11 astronauts who were the first humans to land on the moon in 1969.

Other vintage shop fronts can be seen with "welcome home" banners in the window.

After returning home, the three astronauts took part in parades in New York and Chicago with millions of attendees in August 1969.

Further props which appeared to be parade floats were spotted at the Ibrox Stadium car park - where rehearsals took place with director James Mangold.

The crew behind the film was brought to Glasgow by the city council's economic development team, enabling them to hire out shops and close roads while shoots take place.

Head of communications Colin Edgar said the city does not charge film companies for such a takeover because of the economic benefits.

He said: "There are loads of people from all over taking photos and FaceTiming their friends because it's just really exciting to see your home city transformed in this way.

"It brings people into the city who spend money but it also supports the jobs ecosystem around film and TV production - so it's actually quite an important part of the city's economy now."

Mr Edgar said Glasgow's architecture is a "big attraction" for the film industry as a lot of cities around the world were modelled on its structure.

He added: "Glasgow was built on a grid structure which makes it easy to close of parts of the city to film.

"But also it makes you look like the cities that were designed on grid structure after we did it. So if you want to look like a north American city, Glasgow is the place to come."

Ford was expected to appear in the Scottish Borders last month to shoot scenes for the fifth film in the saga.

The 78-year-old was thought to have been on set in the North Yorkshire village of Grosmont and was also spotted on Tyneside while taking a break from filming.

The actor first appeared in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), followed in 1984 by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, then Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, and in the fourth instalment, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in 2008.

The latest film - which has yet to be named - has long been in the making, with several screenwriters coming and going, and was further slowed down by the Covid pandemic.

It is expected to be released in July 2022.