Major £200m event in Edinburgh to return after it was dramatically axed last year

Scottish Sun

27-05-2025

Tickets are set to go on sale on Friday
NEW CHEER Major £200m event in Edinburgh to return after it was dramatically axed last year
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A MAJOR Edinburgh event is set to return to the capital after it was dramatically axed last year.
Plans to revive the famous New Year's Eve street party have been revealed after it was cancelled amid storm chaos in December.
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Organisers have been given the green light for Edinburgh's Hogmanay event return this year
Credit: Getty
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The popular New Year's Eve street party was cancelled last year due to the weather
Credit: PA
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The Royal Mile was left deserted last year following the cancellations
Credit: PA
Organisers have been given the green light for its return this year, after it was revealed the winter festivals are worth £200million to the local economy, The Herald reports.
And tickets for the Hogmanay Party on Princes Street and the torchlight procession will go on sale on Friday.
Last year, the annual festivities to bring in the new year were called off over bad weather.
Bosses announced they were cancelling all events over public safety fears - including a headline show under the castle by Texas.
The cancellation also included the Night Afore Disco Party in West Princes Street Gardens, the Hogmanay Street Party, Concert in the Gardens, and the Midnight Fireworks from Edinburgh Castle.
Despite this, a number of indoor events went ahead at the Assembly Rooms, the Assembly Hall, St Giles' Cathedral and the National Museum of Scotland.
A new report from Unique Events and Assembly, the two companies who have organised the winter festivals since 2022, revealed a key factor for cancellations were safety concerns.
There were concerns over staff building infrastructure, as well as risk of infrastructure already built being damaged by strong winds.
And it revealed although the forecast did not pose a threat to the Hogmanay fireworks, organisers pulled the plug due to concerns over huge crowds gathering to watch the display without any public safety measures in place.
Festival bosses are now exploring ways to "weather proof" this year's Hogmanay events.
Edinburgh Hogmanay events including famous street party CANCELLED as storm chaos brings New Year misery
A spokeswoman for the festivals said: "In light of last year's extreme weather conditions, we will continue to adapt and evolve the four-day events programme to maintain the city's reputation for having a premier new year celebration."
The new report also found that a total audience of 2.8 million was recorded across a seven-week season of official Christmas and new year events last winter.
Almost a third of Hogmanay tickets were sold internationally, with a third of tickets sold in Scotland and 36 per cent sold elsewhere in the UK.
Visitors to the city over Hogmanay were said to have stayed for an average of two and a half days.
And spent an average of £958 each in the city.
Unique Events director Alan Thomson said: "We take a lot of heart from this report that even having lost our outdoor Hogmanay events to weather, the winter festivals have still delivered not just wonderful and joyful opportunities for people to come together, but also huge benefits for the people of Edinburgh and for Scotland across traders, local families, communities and charities and our tourism businesses.
"We are working on our plans for this coming winter's celebrations and look forward to sharing those very soon."