Should cold acquaintance be forgot as 2010 sweeps in

Published on Thursday 31 December 2009 21:42

Scotland and UK

• Revellers Kathryn O'Donnell and Lauren Morton celebrate Hogmanay at the Edinburgh street party. Picture: Ian Georgeson

THOUSANDS of revellers gathered in Princes Street last night to welcome in 2010 with a magnificent fireworks display from Edinburgh Castle, its slopes dusted with snow.

While the mercury hit -4C, the city buzzed with the excitement of an estimated 80,000 party-goers. Many linked arms to sing Auld Lang Syne as the bells rang in the New Year.

About an hour before midnight, fears over a gas leak forced police to move hundreds of people who were gathering at the top of the Lawnmarket and Castlehill in the Royal Mile to watch the fireworks. They were redirected to other vantage points including North Bridge.

A council spokesman confirmed Scottish Gas Network had dug up part of the cobbled street after someone reported a smell of gas, but that the area was later deemed safe.

By mid-evening, the Princes Street area was already packed, with crowds still streaming in from all directions to join in the celebrations.

A dazzling array of acts also kept the crowds jumping long into the night, with DJ sets from Mylo and Snow Patrol mixing it up alongside rockers The Enemy, Frightened Rabbit and We Were Promised Jetpacks.

But headliners Madness proved the biggest hit of the evening, as the band sent the crowd into a frenzy with their iconic pop/ska hits.

Earlier in the evening, the St Giles' Cathedral Choir marked the 250th anniversary of the death of George Frideric Handel by singing the composer's Coronation Anthems, including the spellbinding Zadok the Priest.

And the celebrations continued into the small hours, as the official after-party at the HMV Picture House saw acts Mylo and James Zabiela perform until 5am.

In Glasgow, a sell-out crowd of 10,000 enjoyed artists Tommy Reilly, Bahookie and The Black Hand Gang – all winners of the 2009 Road to Hogmanay contest – before Scots pop legends Deacon Blue lit up the rest of the evening.

Thousands also congregated on Stirling Castle's esplanade to hear the sultry tones of Sandi Thom, before dancing to the electric romp of Freddie Mercury tribute act Gary Mullen.

In a spectacular climax, massed pipes and drums crossed the castle drawbridge as the clock struck 12, illuminated by thousands of fireworks.

And, as always, the country's more traditional events drew large crowds.

But freezing weather got the better of party chiefs in Inverness as Hogmanay celebrations were cancelled over fears for public safety.

Icy roads and snowbound pavements left organisers in the Highland capital with no choice but to cancel fireworks displays as temperatures fell to -5C.

A large crowd had been expected for the Red Hot Highland Fling, a free event at which revellers were to be entertained by the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and the Peatbog Faeries. But party organisers were forced to call off celebrations as the weather deteriorated.

Roy Pedersen, the chairman of the Inverness Winter Festival, said advice from police and safety officials led to the decision to call off the event.

"It is with huge regret that we have had to cancel this event," he said. "I know that so many people were looking forward to a terrific night. However, the police gave us very clear advice that it was unsafe to proceed.

"It is a big disappointment, but the public can be assured that we will not be put off and we have plans to invite the same line-up next Hogmanay."

A rowing regatta in Aberdeen was also called off as sub-zero conditions left the River Dee frozen. Members of Aberdeen Boat Club had travelled from as far as London for the traditional New Year's Day event.

Club captain James McKee said: "We're all hugely disappointed; it's something we look forward to all year round. There are life members of the club who have moved hundreds of miles away, but they all come back for the New Year row.

"But what else can we do? Our boats have 2mm-thick carbon-fibre and glass bases – if they hit ice, the boats will shatter and sink. At 12,000 a pop for an eight-person boat, that's not a risk you take."

In Stonehaven, thousands enjoyed the traditional fireball parade, as more than 40 people marched down the high street twirling the great balls of flame, before hurling them into the sea.

In Comrie, hundreds watched as residents donned fancy dress in a torchlit parade, followed by a pipe band. In a break with tradition, none of the torches was thrown into the River Earn – instead they were tossed on to a huge bonfire in the town centre.

London bid farewell to 2009 with a spectacular fireworks display on the Thames, lighting up the London Eye on its tenth anniversary.

Mayor Boris Johnson said: "For many people in London, 2009 has been a very tough year, but there are signs of optimism everywhere."

In Wales, Cardiff rocked to the sounds of Rolling Stones tribute band the Counterfeit Stones, while others saw in 2010 on ice as they skated at the city's Winter Wonderland rink.

Belfast shunned outdoor concerts in favour of parties in clubs. Entertainment included masked balls to discos.

The world

By Oliver Tree

NEW Year celebrations kicked off around the world yesterday, as the new decade was welcomed.

New Zealand was among the first countries to celebrate 2010, which started there at 11am British time, while Australia followed close behind at 1pm GMT.

Under explosive bursts of fireworks, more than a million revellers in Sydney got one of the world's biggest parties started.

As the show illuminated Australia's largest city, people across the globe bid farewell to a difficult decade bookended by mass terrorism and financial meltdown.

In Sydney, up to 1.5 million thronged harbourside parks and public places for the annual fireworks extravaganza over the harbour bridge and opera house. The twin shows, one at 9pm and a bigger one at midnight, are the centrepiece of Australia's celebrations and generate some of the most striking images from a night of revelry across the globe.

The mood was jubilant, though the economic crisis may make 2009 a year many people are glad to put behind them.

"I think 2010 will be a good year – you can never tell, but I think so," said Marek Kiera, a Sydney property investor, who watched interest rates tumble amid the global financial crisis.

"We have invested so much in something that may go up in value," said Mr Kiera, who went with his wife and three young children to a park in inner Sydney to watch the fireworks show. "Hopefully, there will be a boom like in the late Eighties, when properties doubled in value."

Smaller fireworks displays and partying were planned across Australia and the South Pacific, the first region to greet each new day because of its proximity to the International Date Line.

In New Zealand, dance parties, bands and fireworks were planned in the main cities. In the capital, Wellington, celebrations included a display by world unicycle games competitors.

In Japan, Scots sensation Susan Boyle began her assault on the Asian market as she battled it out on the country's most famous Hogmanay television event, The Red and White Song Battle. Fighting for the all-female Red team, she belted out her signature song, I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Miserables.

Elsewhere, hundreds were injured by fireworks and gunfire in the Philippines, despite a graphic government campaign – doctors displayed surgical saws on TV to show revellers what awaited them if they were hurt by fireworks.

By early evening, 230 people had been injured and the number was likely to double by midnight as superstitious Filipinos bade goodbye to a year of natural disasters and political violence.

In Munoz, a man died in a fire that gutted about 25 stalls selling fireworks. More than 50 hospitals nationwide were on full alert for the expected influx of injured.

"We're prepared for the worst," health secretary Francisco Duque said as he inspected an emergency ward in Manila's Tondo district – a slum area notorious for large illegal fireworks.

The rest of Asia was also partying, though probably not as hard as most of Europe and the Americas. The world's most populous nation, 1.3-billion-strong China, uses a different calendar, so will mark the new year in February.

Firecrackers were already exploding across the Netherlands early yesterday, on the only day of the year when the Dutch are allowed to set them off.

Many are pleased to see the back of a decade that ended in the worst financial crisis for a generation, leaving millions jobless, homeless and bitter at a system that they felt had failed them.

There were also reminders of threats and the fight against terrorism that during the decade led to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and rising militant violence in Pakistan.

The United States embassy in Indonesia warned of a possible terrorist attack on Bali.

In Turkey, the governor of Istanbul, Muammer Guler, said authorities were deploying 2,000 police officers around Taksim Square to prevent the pickpocketing and molesting of women that have tainted past celebrations.

Some officers would be under cover, disguised as street vendors or "even in Santa Claus dress", Mr Guler said.

But with many countries turning the corner of recession, people around the world appeared optimistic of a better future.

• Fireworks explode over the Quadriga sculpture on the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin