Hogmanay – Storm Dylan winding down ahead of the bells

There are several stages set up as part of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and the storm which hit the capital earlier did take its toll on the stage at the East End just outside the Balmoral Hotel.

Photos by Martin Alan Smith

We are assured that everything will be fixed by this evening and that everything will go ahead as planned. The latest weather forecast appears to indicate that the evening will be dry and much less windy than earlier today.

You are advised that after 5.00pm you must have a ticket for the Street Party to get into Princes Street and all the events which will take place there.

Pyro Celtica performing last night. They will be on each of the podium stages along Princes Street from 9.00 this evening

And there are plenty of them!

There will be singing, dancing, Bairns Afore, Concert in the Gardens, Ceilidh under the Castle with Edinburgh Gin, Street Party and the Midnight Moment Fireworks.

You will be able to see and hear some of the proceedings wherever you are thanks to big screens and some massive speakers which were belting out some tunes during the set up earlier today. 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.

Photo Chris Watt

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. There are over 100 extra performers and Hogmanay Host Sanjeev Kohli throughout the 6 hours from 7pm to 1am.

Some of the highlights include :

The Lord Provost’s piper Louise Marshall will be leading the Divas and District Pipes and Drums at 8pm processing from the West End of Princes Street to the Mound where they will meet Spark! who will be coming down the Mound. At just after 8.30pm the two groups will stage a Drum Off!

There will be aerial performers galore on the Mound and on the facades of the Regus offices at 83 Princes Street and the Mercure building at the East End.

At 8.50pm there will be the Big Sing led by the 140 members of the Got Soul Choir from Edinburgh who will be on the three podium stages along Princes Street.

At 10pm there will be a Big Disco moment across all stages with everyone in the city centre joining in, but at the same time Human League take to the Waverley Stage (which has blocked access from Waverley Bridge to the south so be warned!) for about an hour.

There will be fireworks at various times at 9.00pm for about 30 seconds at 10.00pm for one minute and at 11.00pm for one minute culminating at midnight when the newly redesigned fireworks show will go on for 9 minutes all set to a score devised by Skye band, Niteworks.

Have a great Hogmanay. We will be out on the street trying to capture some of the moments, some of the people and some of the fun.

Wrap up warm. It is cold out there.

Make sure you have a meeting point set up in advance if you are with friends.

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.

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.