New Year’s Eve is a big deal just about everywhere in the world. In Denmark they smash plates, in Greece they hang onions on their front doors and in Scotland (the birthplace of ‘Auld Lang Syne’) they have Hogmanay. Edinburgh’s three-day long Hogmanay celebration has become one of the biggest outdoor NYE events on the globe. And now it’s set to get even bigger.
For 2024, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations will be expanded to areas beyond the city centre and run for an entire extra day. The capacity for the main party on Prince’s Street will increase from 40,000 to 45,000, there’ll be a new live music stage and a new four-day programme of events at the George Street Assembly Rooms.
Organisers have promised live music gigs, family ceilidh dances and DJ events in surrounding communities for the very first time since the event began 31 years ago, as part of the First Footin’ and Sprogmanay programmes on New Year’s Day. The specific locations haven’t been announced yet but organisers said there will be ‘at least three new venues for community events’, all free and ticketed.
Al Thomson, director at Unique Events, told the Scotsman: ‘We have gradually been rebuilding the street party post-Covid. Increasing the capacity helps us to put on more entertainment, so we will have three stages this year. The more people we can have at the event year-on-year, the more entertainment we can add in and develop the programme over the next few years.’
Scottish rock band, Texas was unveiled as the headliner for this year’s Concert in the Gardens, a 10,000-capacity venue on Prince’s Street Gardens, on December 31. The rest of the programme for Hogmanay 2024 is expected to be announced at the end of October, as organisers await funding for the annual torchlight procession on December 29, which usually kicks off festivities.
Time Out in Edinburgh
If you’re thinking of heading to the Caledonian capital to mark the end of 2024, we’ve got a tonne of guides to help you make the most of it. These are the best things to do in Edinburgh right now, the best restaurants, the best Airbnbs to book and the best bars to head to after the clock strikes 12.
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