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The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh set to get £140,00 refund over Hogmanay wash-out
Three days of outdoor events were wiped out by prolonged high winds between December 29 and 31. Read more: However the city council has still not managed to recover any of the £812,456 it put into last year's four-day Hogmanay festival. An official report for the city council has also revealed that is still to be paid more than £250,000 in fees from last year's Christmas and new year festivals. However councillors have been told that "in excess of £140,000" is expected to be recouped once the insurance claim over the cancellations is settled, while the council said there is a "clear expectation" that it will all the money it is due from various charges, including traffic orders and the rental of key sites including Princes Street Gardens. Edinburgh's Hogmanay fireworks were called off last year. (Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) The new figures have emerged after it was announced that an overall audience of 2.8 million had been attracted to the city centre over the festive season, which has been valued at £198 million to the economy. Unique Events and Assembly were last May awarded a joint contract to produce the Christmas and new year events for up to five years. While the Christmas festival is expected to be run on a commercial basis, the £812,456 council grant is expected to help pay for the Hogmanay festival, which costs around £3.56 million to stage. Key costs in the budget include £314,000 for a torchlight procession on December 29, £137,000 for a Night Afore Disco Party in Princes Street Gardens on December 30, £890,000 for the Concert in Gardens on Hogmanay and £1.49m for the main street party on Princes Street on Hogmanay. However the fire parade was called off around 5pm, shortly before it was due to set off, due to the wind speeds being recorded in the city centre. The plug was pulled on the other outdoor events and the planned midnight fireworks display just after 3pm on December 30 due to the weather conditions hampering the set up of the main arena and stages across the city centre. All planned indoor events were able to go ahead as planned at venues including the Assembly Rooms, the Assembly Hall, St Giles' Cathedral and the National Museum of Scotland. Councillors have been told that the event organisers had been in 'constant communication with their insurers between December 29 and 31. The report for the council's culture committee said: 'It is anticipated that the council will be able to recover some of the grant funding released to support Edinburgh's Hogmanay. 'Due to the events that did take place and the ongoing insurance claim for the cancelled outdoor 2024/25 events, this figure is not currently available but is expected to be in excess of £140,000. 'The council receives fixed fee rental income from Unique-Assembly for the delivery of Edinburgh's Christmas dependent upon land made available to the successful contract holder. In addition, the council receives significant income from charges. Council charges, including fixed fee income, rentals, hires, licensing, planning permission, building warrants and traffic management orders for the 2024-25 winter festivals 2024/25 represented an income to the council of £668,595 of which £418,700 has currently been paid. 'The council is in ongoing discussions with the contractor in relation to any outstanding payments due with a clear expectation that all relevant contractual sums will be settled. 'The council is aware of the terms of the contract and the potential remedies available to it and will continue to take appropriate steps to recover sums in line with the contract.' A spokesperson for Unique Events and Assembly said: 'There will be a financial return to CEC following completion of the insurance process. 'In light of last year's extreme weather conditions, we will continue to adapt and evolve the four-day Hogmanay events programme to maintain the city's reputation as a premier new year celebration.'
Scottish Sun
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Scottish Sun
Major £200m event in Edinburgh to return after it was dramatically axed last year
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 Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 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. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Organisers have been given the green light for Edinburgh's Hogmanay event return this year Credit: Getty 4 The popular New Year's Eve street party was cancelled last year due to the weather Credit: PA 4 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."
The Herald Scotland
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Hogmanay events return as winter festival is valued at £198m
They have been given the green light to return as the producers of the winter festivals for the city revealed that an overall audience of 2.8 million was recorded across a seven-week season of official Christmas and new year events last winter. Read more: They have revealed they are exploring ways to 'weather-proof' this year's main Hogmanay events to avoid them falling victim to bad weather again. However this may need extra funding for the four-day new year festival, which is mainly paid for via an Edinburgh City Council contract worth £812,456 a year, but is now said to generate £48m for the economy. The torchlight procession, which was due to be staged on December 29, was called off shortly before thousands of revellers were due to set through the city due to the worsening wind conditions along the parade route. Edinburgh's Hogmanay street party, open-air concert and midnight fireworks display fell victim to bad weather last year. The other main outdoor events were called off the following day, including a 'Night Afore Disco Party' in Princes Street Gardens on December 30, and the 45,000-capacity street party and the flagship Hogmanay Concert in the Gardens, which was due to be headlined by Texas. However a series of indoor events went ahead in indoor venues during the four-day festival, including 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 led the organising of the city's winter festivals since 2022, has revealed that a key factor in the cancellations were concerns over the safety of staff who were due to build infrastructure in the city centre, as well as the risk of temporary structure already built being damaged by the forecast high winds. It reveals that although the weather forecast for Hogmanay itself did not pose a threat to the planned fireworks over midnight it was decided to pull the plug due to concerns over large crowds gathering to watch the display without any public safety measures being in place. The report added: 'Despite the cancellation of all planned outdoor events due to extreme weather conditions both experienced and forecasted during the build periods and event dates, Edinburgh's Hogmanay indoor programme played to packed audiences with many ticketed events sold out and free to enter events full, welcoming an estimated audience of more than 26,000 over four days.' 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 research found that almost a third of tickets were sold internationally for the Hogmanay festival, with a third of tickets sold in Scotland and 36 per cent sold elsewhere in the UK. Visitors to the city over the Hogmanay period were said to have stayed for an average of two and a half days and spent an average of £958 each during their time in the city. The Christmas festival drew 37 per cent of its audience from Edinburgh and the Lothians, 21 per cent from the rest of Scotland, 32 per cent from the rest of the UK and 10 per cent internationally. The event, which ran from November 15-January 4, has been valued at £150 million for the economy. Around 70 per cent of visitors said the Christmas festival was their main reason for travelling to Edinburgh, with the average spend £537 across attractions, shops, restaurants and pubs. 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.' Margaret Graham, the city council's culture convener, said: "The findings of this report demonstrate that Edinburgh's world-famous winter festivals don't only draw a huge international crowd, boosting the economy and adding to the city's vibrant calendar of events, but, crucially, they deliver significant benefits to Edinburgh's local communities, businesses and charities. 'This is despite the cancellation of last year's outdoor events, showing just how far reaching the programme events is.' Roddy Smith, chief executive of city centre business group Essential Edinburgh, said: 'Edinburgh's winter festivals are a crucial period for our city centre and again it is very pleasing to see our residents and visitors coming in such large numbers. 'With such a varied and appealing programme, combined with the high-quality hospitality and retail offering in the city centre, Edinburgh continues to be an attractive destination to enjoy the festive season.'
