THE high-profile Glasgow event celebrating the Orange Order's history and culture is unlikely to be repeated, the organisation has said.

Orangefest, staged amid much social media protest and condemnation from some quarters, is understood to have cost the Order around £35,000 and is likely to be replaced with much more low key events at the organisation's Scottish headquarters in Glasgow's east end.

Eddie Hyde, the Grand master of the County Grand Lodge of Glasgow, also described much of the opposition to the event, included a petition with almost 30,000 signatures, as "uninformed nonsense".

He added: "They know little or nothing about the Order's purpose, the huge contribution we have made, and still make, to the life of our wonderful city, nor the amazing extent of our charity work."

The event, which had been almost a year in planning and was held in Glasgow's George Square, had been scaled back due to the poor weather last month, with bouncy castles and helter skelters scrapped.

Mr Hyde added: "Orangefest was set up a couple of years ago as an ongoing education programme about our culture.

"It will continue but perhaps not in the format of the display in George Square.

"We will have educational programmes throughout the year but they will mainly be indoors."

The event had been billed as an "opportunity to gain an understanding of the cultural heritage and modus operandi of the Orange Lodge as a whole".

As online protests against Orangefest intensified one member of Scotland's anti-sectarian task force intervened, calling for the Orange Order to be afforded greater tolerance rather than face curbs on free speech and expression.

Meanwhile, A large Orange Order parade has been held in the centre of Glasgow today.

The annual procession, known as the County Grand Orange Order parade, took to some of the city's streets as marchers marked the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.

It came amid calls from police and organisers for the event to pass off peacefully.

Leaving from the city's Cathedral Square, it is one of the largest operations Police Scotland deals with each year.

Officers, who prepared for hundreds of others to watch and follow the parade, warned members of the public to "leave the booze and the bigotry behind" - a warning echoed by the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland.

Police said today that the number of people at the march was around 7,000 and there were 20 arrests for minor offences.

Speaking ahead of the parade, Chief Superintendent Andy Bates said: "Generally it is the unwelcome minority who turn up and use the event as an excuse to drink and cause offence who we have to deal with rather than the marchers themselves."

A spokesman for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland said: "I am really pleased with the whole event. It's been a great day and the bands were exceptional."