City plans to make Hogmanay party a free for all once again

Published on Monday 26 October 2009 09:26

REVELLERS would be given free entry to the Capital's famous Hogmanay street party under plans to axe the barriers and tickets.

The city council had to introduce tickets and cordon off the street party area in 1997, after safety fears when 300,000 people had crammed into Princes Street a year earlier.

But festivals and events champion Steve Cardownie today said the council was to look at ending the cordon, after admitting it was unlikely to face such overcrowding again because most major UK cities now hold street parties.

It is thought that, subject to any construction work in the city centre limiting the capacity, and in full consultation with police and other bodies, tickets may be scrapped from as early as next year.

Charging was first introduced in 2004 at 2.50, but this year's tickets will cost four times that.

The council says the ticket price only covers the cost of producing the wristbands, erecting a cordon of barriers around the party site and paying for additional stewarding to check wristbands.

Cllr Cardownie said: "We've had the problem all these years ago where there were too many people on Princes Street and there was the potential for a very serious accident in terms of push points, where people came into contact with each other walking in different directions and there was a huge squeeze.

"That was why we introduced wristbands and security gates – and it was at cost to the council.

"Do we still need to have the security cordon? That would save a fortune, because the stewards that come are from various different parts of the UK. We really have to look at whether the barriers and ticketing are necessary, given that there are a lot of similar celebrations around the UK."

Tickets were introduced 12 years ago after 300 people were injured in crushes when the 300,000-strong crowd turned up. The tickets were initially free and distributed through a ballot until 2004, when a 2.50 "administrative fee" was introduced.

The fee was doubled for 2007 to 5 because of rising "public safety" costs, and this year's cheapest tickets will cost 10.

Former council leader Donald Anderson, who first introduced ticket prices, said: "Edinburgh's Hogmanay became a phenomenon. When it first started on Princes Street, it only attracted 40,000, but it became the iconic New Year event in the UK.

"The problem now is that every city is holding its own and London is putting a lot of money into its. It may not be possible to be the pre-eminent event in the UK any more, and that will impact on the number of people who come here."

And Labour councillor Eric Milligan, who was Lord Provost when ticketing was first introduced in 1997, said: "I was never happy at a charge being introduced. The whole point of Hogmanay should always be that people are being welcomed to our party."