You wouldn’t have blamed visitors arriving in the Scottish capital – a city famous for its inclement weather and hosting the greatest New Year’s Eve party on earth – for feeling reassured by festival bosses’ confidence the wind and rain was an obstacle that could be overcome, and celebrations would go ahead as planned.
Revellers held out hope after the initial disappointment of the torchlight procession being called off on Sunday. But last night it was announced the flagship party on Princes Street, outdoor concert headlined by Texas due to be held in the adjacent gardens, and world-famous fireworks display over Edinburgh Castle at midnight were all cancelled too.
It leaves around 45,000 ticketholders, who have been promised a refund, high and dry on the biggest night of the year. Fear not, locals will assure you, there’s still no better place to be on Hogmanay than Edinburgh – even if you’ve been left scunnered.
Long before being turned into a ticketed event in the 1990s, the city’s New Year’s Eve festivities centred around the Tron Kirk on the Royal Mile where people would gather for a drink and a dance to bring in the bells – a tradition dating back hundreds of years.
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Those willing to brave the storm may even congregate here again tonight, enticed by a more informal celebration and unwilling to let the eleventh-hour cancellations dampen spirits.
More likely though is the city’s pubs, clubs and venues being even more packed than previously anticipated. It is these businesses, who rely heavily on a boost to earnings over Christmas and New Year to survive the lull period that follows, who stand to benefit from the decision to call off the large scale outdoor events.
In recent years it’s been estimated Hogmanay brings an economic boost of nearly £40 million to the capital.
Some residents – particularly those unhappy with the commercialisation of new year celebrations in Edinburgh, cordoning off of parts of the city centre and overpriced drinks – will be happy to see more of this cash going into local businesses rather than large events companies.
And then there’s the question of who picks up the bill for this fiasco.
Unlike Edinburgh’s Christmas markets and amusements, the Hogmanay Festival is subsidised by the city council to the tune of £812,456 every year.
Details of the cancellation clause agreed between the local authority and contractors Unique Assembly are already being probed.
If it’s taxpayers who end up paying, the council can expect to go into the new year facing questions over why it didn’t do more to protect public funds.