Royal Mile highlight of Hogmanay party

Published on Tuesday 17 November 2009 21:24

EDINBURGH'S Royal Mile is to take centre stage in the capital's Hogmanay festival for the first time since the millennium, with the Queen's support.

• Codeine Velvet Club are among the acts booked to play

Famous landmarks, visitor attractions and public spaces from Holyrood Palace to the castle will play host to special events.

Among the attractions will be street theatre in the shadow of St Giles' Cathedral, and a one-off event which will see the castle opened for evening tours and transformed by light installations. The giant puppet, the "Big Man", will also first-foot his way up the Royal Mile.

Live music events, sound installations, ghost tours, whisky tastings and a torchlight procession are expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors into the Royal Mile over the planned five days of festivities.

The Royal Mile events have been created following moves to cut the main party on Princes Street from 100,000 to 80,000 capacity, with organisers blaming the impact of tramworks and budget problems.

However, the Scottish Government and EventScotland have stepped in to back new venues on the Royal Mile, including the Palace of Holyroodhouse for the first time. The traditional "Night Afore" celebrations will move from the Grassmarket to the Royal Mile as part of a pilot project to light famous buildings and get them to play host to special events. The castle, Mary King's Close and John Knox House will all open their doors in the evening, for the first time in the case of the Knox House.

The firebrand preacher's home is one of several venues that will showcase events to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the Reformation.

St Giles' Cathedral will be the venue for an hour-long "gate of the year" event while the Signet Library will stage a debate on the Reformation and its relevance to modern Scotland. Knox will be brought to life by actor John Sheddon, who will greet the Big Man, an eight-metre tall blue puppet, on its way to the Tron.

Meanwhile, Calvin Harris is the latest big name act to be added to the Hogmanay programme. The Scots dance music star will host a club night at the Picture House. Others booked include Madness, the Noisettes, and Codeine Velvet Club.

Festival parade to return home

THE main curtain-raiser to Edinburgh's summer festivals season is set to make a return to Princes Street, city leaders signalled yesterday.

The annual Festival Cavalcade, a hugely-popular fixture at the beginning of August since the mid-1970s, was relocated to Holyrood Park this year to accommodate tramworks.

Although this year's cavalcade was said to have been a success, the number of people attending slumped from 150,000 to just 75,000.

Steve Cardownie, the council's festivals and events champion, said: "We are already in talks with the organisers of the parade and we're very keen that the event returns to Princes Street."

'River of fire' procession will kick off four days of celebration

29 December

Parliament Square, 6:30pm: The start of a spectacular torchlight procession creating a river of fire to Calton Hill, for a sound and light show.

30 December

St Giles' Cathedral, 7pm: Plays home to a performance soundscape created by artists Michael Begg and Colin Potter.

French street theatre company Carabosse will create a series of fire installations around the cathedral.

Mary King's Close, 7pm: A rare chance to tour the famous underground street at night.

John Knox House, 7pm: The home of the father of the Reformation opens at night for the first time for ghost tours.

Edinburgh Castle, 6:30pm: A rare evening of guided tours.

31 December

St Giles' Cathedral, 7:30pm: A concert to mark the 250th anniversary of Handel's death.

1 January

Palace of Holyroodhouse Royal Mews, 1pm: Leading folk, jazz, Celtic and world music acts will perform in a free courtyard concert.

Palace of Holyroodhouse-The Tron, from 4:30pm: Puppet Lab's huge blue "Big Man" will set off to first-foot some famous landmarks.

John Knox House, from noon: Actor John Sheddon plays the preacher in a day of events to mark the 450th anniversary of the Reformation.

Signet Library, 5:30pm: Author Harry Reid and former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway discuss the legacy of the Reformation.

&#149 Tickets for all events are on sale now via www.edinburghshogmanay.com