29 December 2017
Newsdesk
75,000 people across all areas of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay from the Ceilidh under the Castle with Edinburgh Gin to Hogmanay HQ and all corners of the Street Party will be led in Auld Lang Syne after the midnight fireworks by Rag’n’Bone Man. The internal TV broadcast hosted by Sanjeev Kohli will transmit three Rag’n’Bone Man songs on big screens to party-goers across the city centre celebrations.
Underbelly, the new producers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, advised revellers to buy and pick up their Street Party tickets today or tomorrow, and not to wait until Sunday 31 December.
Tickets are already sold out for Concert in the Gardens, Candlelit Concert, Hogmanay HQ and Baby Loves Disco as well Monday morning’s Loony Dook. The only way people can still join the party on the 31st is to sign up to the world famous Street Party which this year sees a massive revamp to animate the arena with over 100 extra performers and Hogmanay Host Sanjeev Kohli throughout the 6 hours from 7pm to 1am. Tickets must be bought in advance online or from the box office at 109 George Street and picked up by 6pm on 31st December. Those without tickets will not be able to enter the arena.
There are also still a limited number of torches and wristbands for the Torchlight Procession available, however these are expected to be snapped up.
Organisers are advising people to attend events without bags if possible to gain faster access to the event arenas where a two queue entrance system for those with and without bags will be in place to accommodate bag searches.
The three day Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festival kicks off tomorrow (Saturday 30 December) with the family-favourite Torchlight Procession. 17,000 torchbearers, accompanied by friends and family and led by 30 Up Helly Aa Vikings from Shetland, some aged just 5 and up, alongside youth pipe bands, brass bands and samba bands full of talented young performers will create a river of light through Edinburgh’s Old Town in a new route past Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament. The procession finishes in Holyrood Park where the first 2,000 will be choreographed by Gina and Rocky (awesome chartists) to reveal one word - #ScotWord. This word, unveiled for the first time, was chosen by the young people of Scotland to answer the question ‘What makes you proud to live in Scotland?’ and will herald the start of Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018.
The Procession leaves three points in Edinburgh’s Old Town at 7.00pm and will be viewed by an estimated 20,000 spectators along the route. All accompanying friends and family must have wristbands to join the procession, and a donation from the sale of every torch and wristband will be made to the official Edinburgh’s Hogmanay charity One City Trust. The fireworks finale will lift off from Calton Hill when the word has been completed, and can be viewed from surrounding streets as well as from Holyrood Park.
#ScotWord is the culmination of many months engaging with Scotland’s young people. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay throughout this year’s three-day festival includes and celebrates young people offering them new opportunities to get involved, from the many talented young performers entertaining the crowds at Torchlight or processing with their families, to events on 31st December for people of all ages with Baby Loves Disco in the afternoon, and the early fireworks event for families Bairns Afore at 5pm. On 1st January the family fun continues at the Loony Dook where 1,100 people not dressed for the cold dash into the River Forth in the shadow of the iconic Forth Railway Bridge to raise money for their preferred charities. A parade of fancy dressed dippers sets off through South Queensferry at 11am.
On Sunday 31 December, the world famous Street Party gets a face lift from some of the best international events creatives in the world. Joining Martin Green (Head of Ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and currently the CEO and Director of Hull UK City of Culture 2017) as Executive Producer are Dan Jones (Sound Design), Durham Marenghi (Lighting Designer), Struan Leslie (Street Party Director), James O’Brien (Edinburgh’s Hogmanay TV Director) and Ala Lloyd (Designer), to bring the whole event arena to life. A fantastic line up of bands across the three stages in the Street Party arena includes Sacred Paws, Niteworks and Human League on the Waverley Stage, Barns Courtney, Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 and Treacherous Orchestra on the East End Stage, the Mac Twins and Huey Morgan on the Castle Street Stage. Sanjeev Kohli, the Hogmanay Host will keep the party going as revellers are entertained by aerialists, flash mobs, bands, choirs, and many other surprise pop-up entertainment moments on podium stages throughout the arena.
At the sold-out Concert in the Gardens Edinburgh’s own Nina Nesbitt brings her instantly recognisable voice and cool electronic sound to kick off the night. Declan McKenna fresh from winning BBC Introducing Artist of the Year this month follows and sets the ground for one of the UK’s biggest music acts Rag’n’Bone Man.
Countdown firework displays on the hour from 9.00pm will culminate in the world-renowned Midnight Moment firework display lifting from Edinburgh Castle. This year the Midnight Moment will, for the first time, be choreographed to a specially commissioned soundscape created by Skye band Niteworks and award winning sound designer and film composer Dan Jones in collaboration with Titanium and runs for the extended time of nine minutes.
The Candlelit Concert will take place in the historic and atmospheric setting of St Giles’ Cathedral. At 7.30pm on 31 December the Candlelit Concert will open with JS Bach’s captivating Lutheran Mass in F, perfectly bringing to a close the Reformation’s 500th anniversary year. Heralding the start of Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018, the concert will feature an array of dazzling young soloists all trained in Scotland.
A free Hogmanay NightBus Service once again runs throughout the capital for revellers supported by the City of Edinburgh Council and provided by Lothian Buses. The service starts at 00:20 and runs until 04:00 and will help around 20,000 people get home safely. Edinburgh Trams are once again offering free Hogmanay Tram Services to ensure revellers can leave the city centre after the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations. Free trams will run from midnight until 05:00 every 20 minutes. Details of times and routes can be found at www.edinburghshogmanay.com.
While all tickets for Concert in the Gardens, Hogmanay HQ and the Candlelit Concert are sold out, there are still Street Party wristbands available (£26 incl booking fee). These can be booked on-line at www.edinburghshogmanay.com or on the phone on 0844 573 8455 but must be collected from the Box Office at 109 George Street, Edinburgh before 8pm on 31 December. Limited pre-booked torch vouchers and wristbands for the Torchlight Procession are also available through the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Box Office. Places at the New Year’s Day dip Loony Dook are SOLD OUT.
