Waterlogged Inverleith shuts to public for Festival’s fireworks finale

INVERLEITH Park is to be closed to viewers of the Festival fireworks for the first time after the ground was left 
waterlogged by flooding earlier this year.

The park has been a popular viewing spot for 15 years, but will this year be off limits.

Waverley Bridge has been identified by the council as an alternative viewing area, with speakers to be put in place to enable crowds to hear music from the concert in Princes Street Gardens.

The fireworks, on Sunday, will see huge crowds gather in Princes Street to mark the official end of the Edinburgh International Festival.

As well as road closures in the city centre, Historic Scotland has announced that Holyrood Park will also be completely closed off to vehicles on the evening of the event for public safety.

Martin Gray, Historic Scotland visitor services manager for Holyrood Park, said: “The end of Festival fireworks attracts thousands of visitors to Holyrood Park looking to enjoy the fantastic views of the fireworks display. Last year, the park experienced significant traffic congestion, as well as people parking on the verges which impinged on other people’s ability to enjoy the fireworks, as well as posing a safety risk.”

The display, which was attended by 250,000 people in 2011, is this year celebrating the diamond jubilee and the works of William Shakespeare. A performance by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra accompanying the display will feature William Walton’s Orb and Sceptre march, written for the Queen’s coronation in 1952.

The lavish display will see fireworks rising 750 feet above Edinburgh Castle. The popular fireworks “waterfall” will also be returning. All in all, four tonnes of explosives and more than 100,000 fireworks will be used during the 45-minute concert.

Jonathan Mills, director of the Edinburgh International Festival, said: “The magic of the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert continues to make it an unmissable part of the 
Festival and of life in Edinburgh. After three whirlwind weeks of music, opera, theatre and dance, I am looking forward to the fabulous music and what I am sure will be a stunning fireworks display.”

A spokesman for display organiser Virgin Money said it would be releasing a number of early tickets for the gardens from 10am today.