By Daniel Van Reenen and Stephen Bark
22 July 2026
Startled Glasgow residents woke up to a mythical sight after a dragon was spotted in the skies above the city this morning.
The spectacular display comes as Glasgow prepares to host the Commonwealth Games.
Earlier risers spotted the Game of Thrones creature in flight between 8am and 9am, as it marked the start of the Games, which officially get underway on Thursday, July 23.
The model of Syrax — the dragon of Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Emma D’Arcy in the HBO spin-off House of the Dragon — also caused a stir on Tuesday, July 21, after it was similarly spotted in the skies above the SEC and the Hydro - some of the venues for the games.
The model was originally created and flown in London for the launch of the HBO show's third season, which is due to air in August.
It was created using 3D scans from the series production and can reach a top speed of 35km/h.
With HBO exclusively streaming every event from Glasgow 2026 live, with coverage delivered by TNT Sports, Syrax made her way to Scotland to celebrate the partnership and keep an eye on the city.
It was created by German aeronautic pioneers Airstage for House of the Dragon and the animatronic model features 23 dexterous moving parts, an 8m wingspan, and weighs 13kg.
The model’s detail and texture was constructed from vacuum-formed Depron foam around a carbon fibre and aluminium skeleton, finished by hand with airbrushed paintwork to achieve a highly detailed and realistic surface appearance.
The main inventor at Airstage took the idea for the model from Da Vinci’s original flying machine.
Now more than 500 years later, the company has created a flying model that flaps and soars like a real dragon would.
Matthias Muthsam, a technician and pilot with Airstage, said:
“We started with a 3D model, which we got sent from HBO. Then we produced [the dragon] out of them the cut model, and from the cut model, then we plan our next steps.
That’s mostly carbon fibre and foam, and we have two motors with vectors, so we can reduce the thrust. And yes, it’s all vacuum formed.
It’s amazing to be part of the team to build such impressive creatures, and it’s nice to be a part of it.”
Mr Gutowsky added:
“My favourite part is actually to inspire other young people. Everyone can be an engineer and do such a big project, and all other people watching a dragon and feel like, ‘wow, that’s beautiful’.”
Radio DJ Ewen Cameron spotted the dragon yesterday and took to X to share a clip of the flying creature. He said:
"At 5:45am this morning, while driving to work, I saw this flying over the River Clyde."
The sighting left some early risers questioning if it was AI, but others recognised it from the TV show.
Around 3,000 athletes will descend on Glasgow over the next 11 days to compete in 215 events across 11 sports at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, which will begin with the Opening Ceremony at the Hydro tomorrow night.
📹 @STVNews / X
