Edinburgh’s Hogmanay: Street party and fireworks could be dropped from winter festivals under shake-up

Council wants to expand Christmas festival outside city centre

Edinburgh has been staging a Hogmanay festival since 1993. Picture: Keith Valentine

Edinburgh could drop the street party and ditch fireworks from its world-famous Hogmanay celebrations due to the soaring cost of staging the event under a shake-up of its winter festivals.

Live music may also be scaled back at future new year celebrations, with drone displays and light shows suggested as alternatives.

However the torchlight procession, which was controversially dropped from last year’s Hogmanay festival due to a lack of funding, is expected to make a comeback.

Fireworks exploded over Edinburgh Castle as the city's Hogmanay festival returned. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

The proposals have emerged in a proposed brief for a contract to take over the running of the winter festivals, which insists there should be a greater spread of official Christmas events across the city.

However no additional funding for the expanded programme is on offer from the council, which is expected to launch a new tendering process in the autumn.

It wants to appoint one company or consortium to run both events, with the Christmas contract due to take effect next year and the Hogmanay one in 2025.

The council wants to reduce the impact of the winter festivals on Princes Street Gardens and will give priority to proposals that make more use of “hard-standing” areas.

Revellers on Princes Street on Edinburgh as the city's Hogmanay festival returned for the first time since 2019. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

New Christmas events are proposed in Corstorphine, Gorgie and Dalry, Leith, Morningside and Bruntsfield, Nicolson Street and Clerk Street, Portobello, Stockbridge and Tollcross.

The Christmas festival is understood to have cost more than £3 million to stage in recent years, while the Hogmanay festivities are now believed to cost more than £3.5 million.

However organisers of the Christmas festival will be expected to cover the costs of events, funfair rides and market stalls, while the Hogmanay festival’s funding will be capped at £813,000.

The council previously launched a major review of the winter festivals in 2019.

Concerns were raised about overcrowding, the cost of tickets and the targeting of the festivals more at visitors than the people of Edinburgh, while there were calls for a greater spread of events.

Food and drink were cited as the most popular elements of the Christmas festival, while fireworks and live music received the most backing for Hogmanay.

However the new festivals brief states: “The council is willing to consider variations to the historic events in terms of programme content, city centre locations used (in particular, to minimise use of green spaces), other locations outside the city centre, and duration of events and activities.

"However, it is expected that Edinburgh’s Hogmanay must take place for a minimum of three days and Christmas will run for four-six weeks.

"Whilst previous Hogmanay events have incorporated live music and a large street party, the contractor is not obliged to repeat this format but must propose alternative entertainment that maintains or increases the media and audience impact.

"The contractor must deliver a programme of events (especially for Edinburgh’s Christmas) within the city centre and reaching into the nine local town centres and communities outwith the city centre, where possible aligned to public transport and active travel routes.”

Val Walker, the council’s culture convener, said: “There’s no question that this is ambitious. We’ll have to work with these communities so they’re happy and in agreement with things being located in their community.

"It’s so important we have that engagement and consent, and don’t just drop things in.”