Edinburgh's Hogmanay chief says format for new year celebrations must remain intact

Fireworks explode over Edinburgh Castle during a previous Hogmanay celebration. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Organisers of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations have insisted their format should not be changed - despite being forced to call off the main outdoor events more than 24 hours in advance.

Producers behind the new year festival, which is said to be worth more than £50m for the economy, claim the "centrepiece" of the festivities must remain intact to ensure the city retains its worldwide appeal.

Princes Street was virtually deserted on Hogmanay after the city’s outdoor events were called off. | PA

They believe the new year celebrations have retained their popularity due to the global reach of images of the midnight fireworks above Edinburgh Castle.

But they have warned that entertainment, road closures and crowd control measures must be provided in the city centre to ensure public safety if a fireworks display was put on above the iconic landmark.

The Assembly Hall on The Mound hosted a Hot Dub Time Machine show on Hogmanay after the Australian DJ’s street party appearance was called off. | Cameron Brisbane

And they have suggested that putting alternative venues on standby on Hogmanay is unviable due to their limited budget and the number of tickets they sell in advance.

A 45,000 street party, an open-air concert expected to attract up to 10,000 revellers to Princes Street Gardens and a fireworks display due to run for six-and-a-half minutes were all abandoned on the afternoon of 30 December after strong winds and yellow weather warnings predicted gusts of up to 60 miles per hour hampered preparations.

Hogmanay revellers in the Grassmarket this year. | Katielee Arrowsmith / SWNS

Producers Unique Events and Assembly were awarded a new city council contract to stage Edinburgh's Christmas and Hogmanay festivals for up to five more years in April.

However this year's festival was the worst affected by bad weather since the first official new years festivities were staged in 1993, with the plug having to be pulled on outdoor events across three days.

Unique director Al Thomson said: "Last year we had possibly the mildest, calmest weather we have ever had. It was relatively easy for us to put on and everyone loved it.

"We have the complete reversal of that this year with three of the worst days of weather we have ever had.

"The infrastructure that is put in place is robust enough to withstand suitable levels of weather. When you go beyond that, giant screens, temporary stages,and structures will not withstand that at any time of year.

"What has made Edinburgh's Hogmanay globally recognised is the unique location. Street parties, concerts and fireworks take place in cities around the world.

"In Edinburgh it has always been about the setting. The midnight fireworks from the castle have always been the focal point.

"It's the image that is beamed around the world and still brings people to Edinburgh for Hogmanay after more than 30 years."

An open-air concert has been staged in Princes Street Gardens since the first Hogmanay festival, while tickets were introduced for the street party several years later to address overcrowding concerns.

Mr Thomson said: "If there is to be a centrepiece and a midnight moment above Edinburgh Castle then people will descend on the city centre.

"As soon as you have that, you have to put in the infrastructure and events to keep people safe and keep people entertained. That's the formula that has worked for more than 30 years and is still keeping people coming here."

Mr Thomson said he was confident the festival could stage a full recovery from this year’s cancellations after previous comebacks from call-offs.

“It's been nearly 20 years since we last had any cancelled events due to bad weather. The festival had a three-year gap post-Covid. There were question marks over whether it would still be popular and whether people would still want to visit Edinburgh for Hogmanay.

"But since we brought it back visitors have been coming here in their tens of thousands and the festival is still as popular as ever.

"We were close to selling events out this year. If we had had a good run of weather we would have had another sell out year."

A hastily-arranged indoor event was staged on Hogmanay at the Assembly Hall on The Mound, where Australian DJ Hot Dub Time Machine, who was due to perform at the street part, staged a four-hour show.

However Mr Thomson suggested it would not be practical to have venues across the city on standby in future.

He added: "As we have said on many occasions, we are putting on these events on very limited budgets and resources. The events and equipment we use are specifically designed for their locations.

"A few venues were available on Hogmanay, such as the Usher Hall and the Queen's Hall, but it is about having the resources available.

"Even if we had indoor spaces on standby, we would only be able to cater for a very small percentage of the audience who have booked tickets.

"The logistics of doing that, let alone the finance and resources involved in having standby venues, are just not viable."

Mr Thomson suggested the new year festival needed more help from the Scottish Government to secure the future of the city's festivities - as he revealed that the main events on Hogmanay received just £25,000 worth of support.

Less than £250,000 of government funding is provided for the city’s four-day programme of events.

Mr Thomson added: "We basically need more support to pay for this festival. That's the reality of it.

"Edinburgh's Hogmanay costs more than £4 million to put on. There is currently around £3 million worth of risk involved in it and it is easily running at a loss of more than £250,000.

"The only way that Edinburgh's Hogmanay can happen at the moment is for it to be supported through income from Edinburgh's Christmas but there is no support at all for that festival these days.

"This isn't a new situation. We've been talking about this since 2016, when funding cuts were introduced for Edinburgh's Hogmanay and £400,000 was taken out of the budget.

"There is no more money going into these events, but there is a requirement for us to do more and everything costs more.

"We have taken a risk on ticketed evening events to help pay for satellite events to take place outside the city centre this year. The city is encouraging that but there is no more funding for it.

"Other cities would kill for what we have in Edinburgh at Hogmanay. The festival generates more than £50m for the economy, but we only get around £1m in public funding support and that's mainly from the city council.

"What we receive from the city council effectively helps pay for events on the 31st. Everything else that we do we have to find additional funding for every year or do at our own risk.