Edinburgh Hogmanay 2020: why the New Year street party has been cancelled - and what to do if you have tickets

The Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party is famous around the world, drawing in thousands to the capital to ring in the new year

The Edinburgh Street Party is one of the biggest events of the year (Photo: Shutterstock)

It has now been confirmed that plans for the 2020 Edinburgh Street Party have been called off, with organisers saying that the event “cannot take place in its current form”, and recalling tickets in the process.

This is everything you need to know - including what to do if you have tickets.

What have the organisers said?

A statement from Underbelly, the organiser behind the famous street party, said: “Tickets for Ediburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party have been on sale since January 1st 2020.

“Exciting and positive discussions are taking place between City of Edinburgh Council and Underbelly in relation to the Hogmanay programme for 2020.

“However, it is clear to all parties that the famous Street Party cannot take place in its current form in 2020 and tickets are being taken off sale as of 22 July 2020.”

The statement explained that an announcement regarding the 2020/2021 Edinburgh Hogmanay programme will be made towards the end of August.

The event has a capacity of 75,000 and draws in people from all over the world to attend the world famous party.

In recent years, a quarter of the street party attendees have travelled from overseas, with 31 per cent from Scotland and 44 per cent from elsewhere in the UK, according to official reports.

Before the event was called off, Underbelly and Edinburgh City Council were already in talks to drastically change the Hogmanay festival, so there was confusion as to why tickets were on sale.

What do I do if I have tickets?

A statement from Underbelly explains that customers who have already booked tickets will be contacted in the next 14 days and “offered a full refund”.

So if you’ve got tickets, all you need to do is wait under Underbelly to get in touch with you.

Could the Street Party still go ahead?

Plans for an adapted or revised Street Party haven’t been scrapped entirely, meaning that the Hogmanay celebrations might still happen, just in a different way.

City council leader Adam McVey said: “The Council is having positive discussions on how Edinburgh’s Christmas and Hogmanay could be celebrated this year.

"All involved recognise the uncertainty of the current situation and the significant requirements for anything Edinburgh hosts to meet public health guidance.

"It’s clear that if our 2020 winter festivals go ahead they will look very different from recent years, using different locations across the city.

"It is also important to think more creatively about how to better support our local businesses who have been impacted by the lockdown.

"Any events will need to give our residents a truly Edinburgh experience that helps discover more of our fantastic businesses that operate all year round.

"Work is underway with our partners to further investigate the feasibility of these new proposals and councillors will agree the way forward in the coming weeks.”