Raising Hogmanay prices may backfire spectacularly

Published on Monday 1 December 2008 09:06

DESPITE both the council and organisers of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations putting a brave face on it, there must be considerable concern at the level of ticket sales for this year's event.

A handful of headline acts for the traditional concert in Princes Street Gardens have been booked but the only area which has sold out is the one directly in front of the stage, leaving about three quarters of the 37.50 passes still available. And although the council is being coy about sales in general, it is understood only a handful of the 52-a-head tickets for the Assembly Rooms ceilidh have been snapped up.

With only five weeks to go to the big night around 30,000 of the 100,000 tickets available for all events have been sold.

Unless the late rush that the organisers are hoping for materialises, the gamble of raising ticket prices to book high-profile acts may backfire spectacularly, leaving the council heavily out of pocket again. Few could argue that the investment the city has put into the event over the years has not paid dividends. It has greatly helped enhance the Capital's reputation as one of the leading festival cities in the world. But as support for the various summer festivals remains strong, the same cannot be said for the New Year offerings.

Its reputation as the fun place to be on Hogmanay reached its zenith in 2000, but since then the event has been dogged by bad luck. Twice in recent years it has been cancelled due to bad weather and this must have had an impact on party-goers from further afield looking to have some dependable fun.

The party also faces increased competition from others who have sought to emulate its success. Although Glasgow's smaller scale event in George Square is not a major threat it will have had an impact on numbers travelling through from the West in the same way that Manchester's improving offering may dissuade some visitors from travelling north from England.

There is of course also the question of the spiralling cost of tickets. Passes for the once free street party now cost 10–17 if you want a hat – and numbers have diminished since charges were first levied in 2004. Has it begun to price itself out of the market or is this year's poor early sales merely another sign that the credit crunch is biting? Whatever the reason, there is a need to identify the problems and take remedial action.

The financial lift that the entire Winter Festivals brings the city's hotels, restaurants and bars is vital to the economy at a time when otherwise bookings and trade would expect to take a dip.

Last year unsold tickets led to Edinburgh City Council losing 300,000 and while that might seem like small beer compared to the wider financial benefits the events bring, increasing losses cannot be sustained for ever.