Star line-up gets longer as Hogmanay bash defies cuts

Published on Tuesday 10 November 2009 21:30

A HOST of new additions to the line-up of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations is unveiled today – as organisers confirmed plans for a scaled-down celebration this year.

• Frightened Rabbit

Three of Scotland's top-rated new bands – Frightened Rabbit, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Codeine Velvet Club – will perform on 31 December.

They will be joined by festival favourites The Enemy, who supported Oasis on their UK tour this year, and The Cuban Brothers, the comedy dance music act, who have performed for Sir Elton John, Sir Richard Branson, and Robbie Williams.

Live bands will be playing on just two stages at the street party, while a third will be a "DJ stage," headlined by Mylo. The street party has had up to five stages in previous years, excluding the open-air ceilidh or Concert in the Gardens. The event's capacity is being cut for the first time since 2000-1, when a 100,000 limit was introduced, due to the impact of tramworks, and funding problems.

But the city council has given Unique Events permission to raise the capacity of the street party to 80,000, instead of 75,000, following talks to decide the final layout of the arena. However, budget overruns from previous years mean there will only be firework displays on two of the city's seven hills.

The main Waverley Stage on Waverley Bridge will host headliners The Enemy, whose debut album shot to No1 two years ago. Support will come from breakthrough indie rock acts We Were Promised Jetpacks, who were formed in Edinburgh but are based in Glasgow, and Frightened Rabbit, who hail from Selkirk in the Borders, as well as hip-hop stars Stanley Odd.

The Cuban Brothers will be appearing along with Glitter Banditz and Hogmanay regular The Great Calverto at the new-look "party stage" at the top of the Mound. Codeine Velvet Club, the new venture for Fratellis front man Jon Lawler, who were named Scotland's most stylish new band last month, will be supporting Madness and The Noisettes at the flagship Concert in the Gardens.

Five days of events will start on 29 December, including a torchlit procession through the city centre, a street theatre spectacular in the Old Town and the street party.

A Unique Events spokeswoman said: "This year's festival is shaping up to have one of the strongest programmes since the millennium, with music, theatre and dance throughout the city centre, indoors and out, with many events free."