Scotland’s party with bells on: Capital prepares for £40m Hogmanay hooley as rain stays away

Hogmanay revellers will blow £40 million on Scotland’s biggest party as thousands of visitors arrive to see in 2020.

More than 180,000 people from 80 different countries are due to celebrate in Edinburgh during a three-day extravaganza culminating in the world-famous street party.

Around 75,000 revellers will attend the main Hogmanay event in the Scottish capital, which includes the street party, the concert in the gardens and the cèilidh under the castle.

Charlie Wood, director of organisers Underbelly, said: “I’m absolutely sure that this year will be the best ever.

“The last few years across Scotland and the whole of the UK have been turbulent so I think we should be looking forward, hence the whole theme for Hogmanay this year is ‘Be Together’.

“It’s very much a call for people to unite.

“It’s the end of the 2010s, it’s a great way to look forward and I hope that’s the attitude that people come with.

“That’s the whole point of Hogmanay – you shut the door on one year and you look forward to the next.”

Thousands more people will ring in the bells at smaller events across the country, from the traditional fireballs parade in Stonehaven to the Biggar Bonfire in South Lanarkshire.

Inverness will host Scotland’s biggest free event with music and a fireworks display at the Red Hot Highland Fling.

Even the weather is expected to be kind, with dry, mild conditions predicted across Scotland for New Year’s Eve.

Organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay will be keeping a keen eye on the weather as high winds are the biggest threat to its outdoor events, and triggered cancellations in 2003 and 2006.

Months of planning will end with a hectic 24 hours spent constructing stages once the city centre roads have been closed to traffic and trams tomorrow evening.

Almost 3,000 people are employed or contracted to work on the Hogmanay festivities.

A last-minute briefing will be held on Tuesday between organisers Edinburgh City Council and emergency services to make sure the night runs smoothly.

Tickets have almost sold out and the final few are expected to be snapped up.

Hogmanay in the Gardens will be headlined by DJ Mark Ronson, and partygoers at the street party hosted by Johnnie Walker will be entertained by VanIves, Idlewild, The Snuts, The Ninth Wave and Marc Almond.

Mr Wood added: “We’re pleased about the weather forecast.

“It’s looking like the best we’ve had for several years.

“Freezing we can deal with as you just ask people to wear very warm coats, rain we can kind of deal with as you just wear waterproofs, but the issue is if you get strong winds.

“But this year it looks as if it’s not going to be that cold, it’s going to be quite still so it’s ideal.

“We’ve sold more tickets at this stage than we had done the last three years.

“There are still some tickets left for the street party.

“It is set fair for the evening so I think they will all go.”

A Met Office spokeswoman said: “The weather looks to be pretty dry which will be welcome news. It certainly looks promising.

“It looks set to be mild, very much so, as our weather is being influenced by the Atlantic and that’s bringing south-westerly winds. Frost is unlikely to be an issue and there’s no sign of snow.”

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay generates £39.2m for the city’s economy, and a further £600,000 to the wider Scottish economy.

Stirling also hosts a ticketed event with music and fireworks against the backdrop of its famous castle.

But not all of the events take place on December 31, as in Burghead, Moray, people instead celebrate on January 11, which was the “old Hogmanay’” in the pre-Gregorian calendar.

Residents carry the clavie – a wooden barrel filled with wooden staves – through the streets before it is torched on a nearby hillside.