Your essential guide to this year's Hogmanay festivities

EDINBURGH

TONIGHT

The Night Afore International, George Street, 8-11pm. Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations have a Catalan theme, and nowhere is this reflected more strongly than in the line-up for the annual Night Afore fiesta.

Highlights include a traditional "parada" with Catalan performers, including the Castellers from Terrassa, who will attempt to create a human tower with more than 150 people, and street theatre company L'Avalot Present Dinomaquia, with a "dragons and fireworks" street show.

Scotland will be represented on the Ceilidh Stage outside the Assembly Rooms, where the Portobello Ceilidh Band and Australian piper Mark Saul will perform.

Wilma Henderson will lead a 15,000 crowd in what may be the world's longest strip-the-willow. The event is free and unticketed.

TOMORROW

Candlelit Concert, St Giles' Cathedral, High Street, 7:30pm. The Cathedral Choir and Scottish Ensemble's festive programme includes Vivaldi's Gloria and Bach's Magnificat.

Royal Bank Street Party, City Centre, 10pm-1am: The best New Year party in the world? More than 100,000 people every year certainly seem to think so.

There are four stages this year (down from five in 2004). Hayseed Dixie, who subvert well-known rock songs by playing them in a frantic bluegrass style, headline the Hoolie Stage at the top of the Mound. They are joined by the Fraser MacNaughton Band and Sandy Brechin's band, Buarach.

On the Party Stage at Princes Mall, the Tartan Dholis perform a blend of Scottish and Sikh music, with king of cheesy pop, the Great Calverto, and DJ Motherfunk.

The remaining stages - Urban Dance and Waverley - will be at Mound Square and the bottom of Waverley Bridge respectively.

In keeping with the Catalan theme, the main Urban Dance event is a breakdance battle between the Fallen Angels of Barcelona and Edinburgh's own Random Aspekts.

The Waverley Stage will be a clued-up muso's paradise, with sets from bands-of-the-moment Sons and Daughters and Hard-Fi. Entry to the Street Party is possible only with a Street Party pass. There will be no entry to the Royal Bank Street Party after 11pm, so you are advised to come early.

Concert in the Gardens, West Princes Street Gardens, 10pm-1am. The line-up for this year is mightily impressive and, better still, 100 per cent home-grown. Safe bets Texas top the bill, but recent breakthrough artists KT Tunstall and El Presidente will surely prove just as popular.

The event is standing only - and is sold out.

Ceilidh in the Gardens, East Princes Street Gardens and Mound Square, 10pm-1am (gates open at 9pm). And just when you thought they couldn't squeeze any more Hogmanay events into Edinburgh city centre, along come Shooglenifty, Karine Polwart, Croft No5 and friends to hold a giant ceilidh slap-bang in the middle of town.

Seven Hills Fireworks, all over Edinburgh, midnight. At the bells, the skies above Edinburgh explode into life for four minutes, as more than eight tonnes of fireworks are set off from the seven hills: Corstorphine, Braid, Blackford, Castle, Calton and Craigmillar hills and Arthur's Seat. Feel free to say "oooh" and "aaah".

New Year Revels, Assembly Rooms, George Street, 9:30pm-3:30am. The biggest house party of them all.

This year, the Assembly Rooms will be divided into three main areas - the Ceilidh Room, where your hosts will be Bella MacNab's Ceilidh Band and the Wild Cigarillos; the Revels Club Bar, where DJs from Catalonia spin discs into the morning; and the Dance Hall, where top Beatles tribute band the Backbeat Beatles and the overworked Hayseed Dixie will be providing the tunes.

Oh, and there's a Haggis Bar, too, located in the Ceilidh Room - ideal for emergency refuelling.

NEW YEAR'S DAY

The One O'Clock Run, from the Castle Esplanade, 1pm (check in 11am). Your head hurts and it feels as if someone has just carpeted the inside of your mouth. Welcome to 2006! What better way to start the New Year than a jog down the Royal Mile? On the plus side, it's not a race, the course isn't long and it's downhill all the way.

The famous One o'Clock Gun is the starting signal for a gentle canter from the Castle to Holyrood Park. To ensure entry, buy a One O'Clock voucher from Edinburgh's Hogmanay ticket outlets and exchange it for your T-shirt on the Castle Esplanade on the day. First come, first served. There will be a briefing from 12:30pm, when registration closes. Entry costs 5 and includes a T-shirt.

Edinburgh's Dogmanay , Holyrood Park, 1.30-3:30pm. If you're not up to doing any exercise on New Year's Day, why not spend an afternoon at the races? Teams of Alaskan Malamute, Samoyed and Siberian huskies compete in a series of high-speed sled races.

Edinburgh Bicycle Triathlon and Iron Kids Duathlon, Holyrood Park, 11:30am (kids), 12:30pm (Triathlon). The Edinburgh Bicycle Triathlon consists of a 400m swim in the Commonwealth Pool, 11-mile cycle ride (three laps of Arthur's Seat) and a 3-mile run (one lap of Arthur's Seat). There's a running and cycling event for children aged eight to 15 earlier in the day; entry to the children's event is on the day only.

Tickets and passes: 0131-473-2056 or www.edinburghshogmanay.org

All listings are accurate at the time of going to press.

GLASGOW

Glasgow's Hogmanay, George Square, 8:30pm-1:30am. Some 25,000 revellers are expected to hear music from Athlete, Deacon Blue and Hue and Cry. The event is already a sell-out, but if you really want to go, stay tuned to Radio Clyde for details of any future ticket releases.

Ashton Lane Street Party, Ashton Lane, 9pm-1am. The seventh annual Ashton Lane Hogmanay Party will feature DJs, live music, fireworks and a piper at the bells.

The Buff Club/Up The Lane in the Buff, 142 Bath Lane, 9pm-2am. A five-hour street party with local bands and DJs playing on a temporary stage in Bath Lane. Tel: [phone].

The Ferry, Anderston Quay, 9pm-2am. Traditional Ceilidh with The Gary Blair Ceilidh Band on board the newly refurbished ferry. Tel: [phone].

The Auditorium Dinner and Ceilidh, Oran Mor, 6:45pm until late. After a three-course dinner, guests can dance all night. The bar and Venue nightclub will also be open. Telephone: [phone].

For details of all the events, go to www.glasgowshogmanay.org.uk

ABERDEEN

Hogmanay Street Party, Union Street, 9pm-1am. The Proclaimers headline the Union Street bash. In years gone by, Aberdeen's party has featured two live music stages, but this year there will be only one, at Castlegate. However, it will be the biggest ever, with a giant, 30-metre screen. Numbers will be restricted, and entry is on a first-come first-served basis. Gates open at 8pm.

Tel: [phone].

BIGGAR

The Hogmanay Bonfire, High Street, from 9pm. Last year, more than 5,000 people descended on Biggar for the bonfire party. The locals have been preparing this year's fire since 1 December, so by Hogmanay it should easily have reached the usual height of two double-decker buses. A torchlight procession up Bigger High Street, headed by a pipe band, starts at the Cross Keys pub at 9pm, and this will be followed by the lighting of the towering inferno at 9:30pm. There will then be dancing around the fire from 10pm until after midnight. For more information visit www.biggarbonfire.org.uk

THE BORDERS

The Land, The Light, The Locals, various venues in the Borders, until 2 January. Now in its sixth year, this festival attracts visitors from all over Scotland and beyond. The traditional Hogmanay shindig at Jedburgh Town Hall is a highlight, along with an event at Hawick Town Hall today. For details, go to www.thelandthelightthelocals.com

COMRIE

Hogmanay Flambeaux Procession, Town Centre, 11:30pm-12:30am. Every Hogmanay, the residents of Comrie in Perthshire don fancy dress and set off on a torchlight procession accompanied by the Comrie Pipe Band. After marching to the four points of the compass to ward off evil spirits, they light a bonfire in the town centre. Tel: [phone].

DORNOCH

Hogmanay Street Party, The Square, 10:30pm-1am. Dornoch in Sutherland will see in the New Year with a street party in the historic Square, where the cathedral, castle and courthouse will be floodlit to create a spectacular backdrop. Jimmy Macdonald's Red Reel Ceilidh Band will play traditional music, and there will also be a pipe band. At the bells, fireworks will be launched from the cathedral tower and a lone piper will play on the castle battlements. Tel: [phone].

DRUMNADROCHIT

Loch Ness Hogmanay Festival, various venues, until 2 January. The highlight of this year's Hogmanay celebrations in the Loch Ness area will be a street party in Drumnadrochit. Entertainment comes courtesy of the Pipes and Drums of Zurich and the Hunky Dory Ceilidh Band. At midnight there will be a fireworks display and a lone piper will usher in 2006.

For the full festival programme, visit www.lochnesshogmanay.com

DUNDEE

North Carr Foghorn Sounding, North Carr Lightship, South Victoria Dock Road, midnight. Sheena Wellington, the Dundonian singer who memorably performed A Man's a Man For a' That at the opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament, will be singing on the Lightship. As usual, members of the Maritime Volunteer Service will welcome the New Year by sounding the lightship's foghorn at midnight.

Proceedings can be viewed from dockside. Tel: [phone].

INVERNESS

Hogmanay Fireworks Display, Inverness Castle, 5:30pm. The highlight of celebrations this year will be a fireworks display above the castle. The best place to view the show will be from the cathedral side of the river, so get there in plenty of time. Tel: [phone].

PERTH

Perth Concert Hall's Hogmanay, Perth Concert Hall, dinner from 7pm, party from 9pm. The Fair City doesn't usually throw much of a Hogmanay party, but this year it's raising its game. This shindig at the Concert Hall features ceilidh band Teannaich, DJs, a whisky and champagne bar and - at the bells - a combined light show and fireworks display. Tickets cost 25; 60 gets you a four-course dinner as well.

Tel: [phone].

STIRLING

Hogmanay Castle Party, Stirling Castle Esplanade, gates open at 10pm, music starts at 10:30pm. The party is headlined by Eddi Reader, who will perform alongside Blazin' Fiddles and the former Del Amitri frontman, Justin Currie, in a collaboration first seen at this year's Celtic Connections festival.

Tel: [phone].

STONEHAVEN

The Stonehaven Fireball Festival, High Street, midnight. Every Hogmanay, in an ancient ritual, around 60 locals parade through the streets of the town, swinging 20lb balls of fire above their heads until they reach the harbour, where they hurl the balls into the sea. It sounds dangerous, but there hasn't been a serious fireball-related injury since the turn of the last century.

Tel: [phone].

Things to do on Hogmanay if street parties aren't your thing...

CANDELIGHT CONCERT

ST GILES' CATHEDRAL, EDINBURGH

THE singers of the St Giles' Cathedral Choir are joined by the Scottish Ensemble for a programme that includes Bach's Magnificat and Vivaldi's Gloria.

Tel: [phone]

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

CARNEGIE HALL, DUNFERMLINE

SIMON Sharkey's award-winning Beauty and the Beast wraps the traditional story in a contemporary narrative about two sisters who have seen the video, but discover that the story only really comes alive when they start to read the book.

Tel: [phone]

CLACHAN YELL AND THE ROCKATEERS

LEMON TREE, ABERDEEN

ONE of the North-east's favourite ceilidh bands, Clachan Yell lead the Hogmanay celebrations at the Lemon Tree.

Tel: [phone]

ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER

FILMHOUSE, EDINBURGH

IN KEEPING with the Catalan theme of Edinburgh's 2005-6 Hogmanay celebrations, the Filmhouse has been showing a series of movies from the region over the last few days, which draws to a close with a screening of the film that won Pedro Almodvar his first Oscar.

Tel: [phone]

HOGMANAY JAZZ PARTY EXTRAVAGANZA

THE JAZZ BAR, EDINBURGH

ACE jazz trumpeter Colin Steele leads a special Jazz Bar Quartet.

Tel: [phone]

HOOTFEST!

THE STAND, EDINBURGH AND THE STAND, GLASGOW

AT THE Stand in Edinburgh, Bruce Devlin introduces Vladimir McTavish, Dougie Dunlop and Mandy Muden; in Glasgow, Brian Morton compres for Martin "Big Pig" Mor, Jane Mackay and Kevin Bridges.

Tel: [phone] (Edinburgh); 0870 600 6055 (Glasgow)

EVAN DANDO AND EUGENE KELLY WITH THE FRATELLIS

ABC2, GLASGOW

EVAN Dando, formerly of the Lemonheads, teams up with Eugene Kelly, formerly of the Vaselines.

Tel: [phone]

THIS IS SPINAL TAP

GLASGOW FILM THEATRE

A RARE chance to see Rob Reiner's rock mockumentary on the big screen.

Tel: [phone]

CINDERELLA

DUNDEE REP

LAST chance to see James Brining's near-perfect revival of Stuart Paterson's 1980s version of Cinderella, in which Cinders rejects the advances of the Prince in favour of the kitchen boy, Callum.

Tel: [phone]

RSNO HOGMANAY GALA

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL

TENOR Alan Beck, baritone David Stephenson and the RSNO perform a host of popular favourites including Scotland the Brave, Amazing Grace, Flower of Scotland and Auld Lang Syne. Nick Davies conducts; River City's Joyce Falconer is on compre duty.

Tel: [phone]

THEATRE: NIGHT AFORE INTERNATIONAL

GEORGE ST, EDINBURGH

THE highlight of this year's epic street arts carnival will be provided by the Castellers, who have pledged to create a human tower made up of over 150 people. Also look out for the dragons and fireworks of L'Avalot, Catalonia's premier street theatre company

MUSIC: ABERFELDY AND FRIENDS

LIQUID ROOM, EDINBURGH

THE capital's masters of lo-fi indie tweeness are joined by surf instrumentalists Preston Pfans and Seaton Sands and electro-rockers Isa and the Filthy Tongues