Tag: Edinburgh’s Hogmanay

Edinburgh's Hogmanay programme announced

“Edinburgh will be the greatest place on earth to say goodbye to 2014 and bring in the bells for Hogmanay” – Cllr Steve Cardownie, Festival & Events Champion

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Organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay have announced the glittering programme of events for this year’s three day festival. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay will run from Tuesday 30 December to Thursday 1 January 2015, and is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors from around the world.

The Festival, produced by Unique Events on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, will kick off with the hugely popular Torchlight Procession on Tuesday 30 December which is supported by EventScotland. A complete sell-out for the last few years, this event is expected to attract over 30,000 participants and 8,000 torchbearers in the procession which winds through the city centre from George IV Bridge to the finale which can be viewed from Calton Hill as well as Waterloo Place where there will be additional entertainment. In this centenary year of the start of World War I, a contribution from the sale of torches will be donated to Erskine.

The flagship Concert in the Gardens on Wednesday 31 December will turn West Princes Street Gardens into THE party with Björn Again, the world renowned Australian ABBA Show kicking off the evening, followed by Grammy award winning dance/R&B superstars Soul II Soul closing their worldwide 25th anniversary tour and headliner Lily Allen who, on the last date of her international tour, will ensure the audience is partying through the bells at midnight. Enclosure tickets have already sold out.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay presents the biggest ever Hot Dub Time Machine at the World Famous Street Party. The time-travelling dance party which usually sees in New Year in Sydney, returns to Edinburgh to celebrate New Year for the first time in the Home of Hogmanay. 75,000 revellers across the arena will travel back to 1954 and then Moonwalk, Mashed Potato and Macarena their way through the bells and into 2015 with a banging song from each year relayed from the Rewinder Stage on the Mound across screens the length of Princes Street.

This year the Street Party welcomes a stellar Scottish line-up with a headline performance on the Waverley Stage from UK festival-favourites Twin Atlantic, joined by the winners of this year’s Mercury Prize, Edinburgh’s own alternative hip hop group Young Fathers, and Indie champions The Twilight Sad.

Audiences at the Scottish Stage will enjoy performances from Scotland’s chanteuse extraordinaire singer-songwriter Eddi Reader with special guests Radio 2 Folk Award nominated Breabach and the band led by Scottish piping phenomenon Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson.

At the Keilidh on the Mound revellers will be birling through the bells to The Smashers (featuring members of Rura), Hugh MacDiarmid’s Haircut and The Sensational Jimi Shandrix Experience.

Revellers will enjoy countdown firework displays at 9pm, 10pm and 11pm rising to the crescendo of the spectacular Midnight Moment as the fireworks lift from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle and Calton Hill. Followed by the world’s largest rendition of Auld Lang Syne as old friends and new join hands across the arena to sing Burn’s anthem.

All stages are live from 9pm to 1am but the party starts from 7pm throughout the Street Party arena with bars, rides and attractions.

Free NightBus services will run throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians for revellers at the Street Party and throughout the City Centre, supported by Lothian Buses and Johnnie Walker. These safe rides home are part of the Join the Pact global responsible drinking initiative from Johnnie Walker which has secured over one million personal commitments from people across the world to never to drink and drive.

Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals and Events Champion at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Edinburgh will be the greatest place on earth to say goodbye to 2014 and bring in the bells for Hogmanay. From the Street Party to the Keilidh, the Concert in the Gardens to the Loony Dook, this is going to be a jam-packed three day festival of fun.

“Every year, people travel from all over the world to experience Edinburgh’s midnight moment, and this year all eyes will yet again be on the Capital as locals and visitors come together to celebrate. With performances from Lily Allen and Mercury prize-winners Young Fathers, it’s also one of the best outdoor concerts in Britain. Local residents planning to celebrate New Year on their doorstep can snap up an early bird discount on tickets, but be quick – the discount will only apply until 28 November.”

Pete Irvine, Director of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, said ““The Street Party boasts the world’s biggest open air dance floor and this year we really are going to party, including at The Concert – we should say Party – in the Gardens. On the other stages we’ve got the perfect Scottish line-up and this reverberates the next day at SCOT.LANDS where 100 artists across 11 venues will be part of what is probably Scotland’s biggest free festival. And it’s still only the first day of the year!”

On New Year’s Day, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay presents Scot:Lands – incredible new worlds hidden in 11 beautiful buildings and outdoor spaces in the city’s Old Town, where audiences can discover the very best in music, art and theatre, created and curated by Scotland’s most innovative artists, arts organisations and musicians: a festival in itself – all free. Scot:Lands is supported by the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

Also on New Year’s Day revellers can work off the excess of the night afore with a dip in the River Forth in the annual Queensferry Loony Dook. Starting with a Dookers Parade through South Queensferry featuring pipers and a host of entertainment the brave, or daft, Dookers will take the chilly plunge for charity under the world renowned Forth Bridge. For those not brave enough to get their feet wet, there are plenty of vantage points to watch the action and spectators are welcomed.

The award winning #Blogmanay was conceived in 2012 as a means of using travel bloggers and a high-impact social media campaign to showcase the unique experience of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, whilst using the festival as a gateway to explore and discover the delights of visiting Scotland, the ‘Home of Hogmanay’ in winter.

This year #Blogmanay is back again, encouraging locals, visitors and attractions across the city from 23 November to 5 January to create a huge bank of live digital content – blogs, reviews, videos, photographs and tweets, highlighting Edinburgh & Scotland as a premier winter destination. This year guest bloggers will be joining #Blogmanay from across Europe, North America, China and Australia and will participate in the award-winning campaign which since 2013 has generated over 150 million twitter impressions.

Tickets for all events at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay are on sale – full details can be found at www.edinburghshogmanay.com.

The early bird ticket offer for Edinburgh residents will close on Friday 28 November. Until then, anyone living in an EH postcode can buy their Street Party ticket for the reduced price of £16 plus booking fee.

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Safety advice as Hogmanay celebrations set to go ahead

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Organisers will be keeping an anxious eye on weather forecasts as Edinburgh’s biggest night of the year is here. High winds and rain wreaked havoc during the night, but the weather is forecast to improve later today.

With festivities likely to go ahead as planned, organisers of Edinburgh’s world famous street party are urging revellers to be warm, to stay safe and to enjoy all that Edinburgh has to offer this Hogmanay.

The City of Edinburgh Council, Lothian and Borders Police, NHS Lothian, G4S Events and the Met Office met on Friday to discuss arrangements and they have offered advice to help revellers bring in the New Year safely.

Cllr Steve Cardownie, Festival and Events Champion, said: “To make sure you and your friends have the best possible time seeing in the bells at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party, take some simple steps to look after yourself: dress for the weather, bring your New Year cheer in plastic bottles, and use your common sense. It’s also a good idea to heed the advice from police and stewards, who will be working extremely hard on the night to make sure everyone enjoys themselves safely, and to establish a pre-arranged meeting point in the event you become separated from your group. Look after yourself and your friends and help us welcome 2013 in style.”

Looking ahead to the weather forecast for Hogmanay, Graeme Forrester, Public Weather Service Advisor for the Met Office, said: “There will be a fresh to strong west to North West wind with rain affecting the Edinburgh area on Monday morning clearing away to give generally dry weather with lighter winds over the bells and temperatures staying above freezing at 2 or 3C. As always revellers should dress for the conditions and wrap up warm.”

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party organisers are offering a few extra tips for revellers to bear in mind:

  • Follow the instructions on the Hogmanay Street Party tickets
  • Dress for the weather
  • Look after each other and arrange a meeting point
  • Think about how to get home
  • Police and stewards are on duty to look after everyone’s safety – bags may be searched on entry
  • Revellers are encouraged not to bring under 16s to Street Party on the 31 December.
  • People under the influence of too much alcohol may be refused entry
  • No one will get in unless they have an Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party ticket
  • Don’t bring glass into the arena
  • Pay bars and food outlets are located within the Street Party Arena.day 30 December.

The three day Festival began with a torchlit procession last night, but the biggest draw to the programme is undoubtedly Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party. Now in its 20th year, the world famous event welcomes 75,000 revellers from around the world to the ‘Home of Hogmanay’. With a total of five live music stages featuring headliners The Maccabees, Reverend and the Maker, Admiral Fallow and Shooglenifty.  Throw in one of the world’s largest New Year fireworks displays and you have the ultimate Edinburgh’s Hogmanay experience.

On the same night, Concert in the Gardens headliners Simple Minds will be having their own party beneath Edinburgh castle and are joined by special guests, The View.  The Concert in the Gardens is opened by local Edinburgh band Bwani Junction.

If you like a bit more birl with the bells, then The Keilidh is the place to be. Dance the night away on the outdoor ceilidh dance floor on Mound Precinct to the very best in traditional music with Hugh McDiarmid’s Haircut, Ceilidhdonia and The Brechin City Rollers.

The fun continues tomorrow (Tuesday 1 January) with the Loony Dook, the annual dip in the River Forth at South Queensferry at 1.30pm.  Revellers are also invited to come and join in Your Lucky Day.  Atmospheric theatre, spoken word, unique musical performances and even a lucky tearoom will be hidden in destinations around the city from the Greyfriars Kirk to The City Art Centre, The Roxy Hall to The Hub.  Revellers will be invited to start at Destination 1, the National Museum of Scotland, and to throw a dice to decide their first destination.  They allow the dice to decide their route around the Old Town for the rest of the afternoon.

Lucky participants might join in the dancing at the Highland Ceilidh or the Hogmanay Hoedown, enjoy inspiring music from young Scottish singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni or shiver at the folk song ghost story Crows Bones.  They might immerse themselves in Duncan Chisholm’s Kin, a beautifully crafted journey into the past using music, narrative and film, try The Luck Factor with Professor Richard Wiseman or enjoy a Scottish afternoon tea with a difference in The Lucky Tearoom.  Audiences are expected to visit a number of performance destinations during the afternoon.

For full programme details or to book tickets for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay visit the official website or telephone the Box Office on 0844 573 8455. Tickets are available in  person from The Fringe Office on the High Street, Tickets Scotland in  Rose Street and Ripping on South Bridge.