Leader: Hogmanay party heading for biggest splash yet

DIRE forebodings; grim warnings of what lies in store; gloom and doom all around: despite all these – or perhaps because of them – the Hogmanay street party in Scotland’s capital could be heading for a sell-out. Event organisers are expecting around 80,000 revellers.

The final number is often weather-dependent but the omens this year are good. Favourable weather conditions are forecast and high winds that have bedevilled the event in the past are likely to be avoided.

Whether party-goers are approaching it as a last hurrah before 2012 sets in or good riddance to 2011 for the economic woes it brought, Hogmanay in Edinburgh is likely to make a bigger splash than ever. Ticket sales are ahead of last year, visitors are expected from 50 countries, the concert in the Gardens in West Princes Street is already sold out and this year for the first time the event will be streamed live on the internet, with a further one billion people expected to watch TV pictures of the street party across the globe.

For the majority of Scots who bring in the new year quietly in the privacy of their homes, the consolation is that the fireworks help keep Scotland on the tourist map while the event presents an opportunity to show the nation in a carefree and festive mood. Are we not like this all the time?