London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2026

Scotland prepares for Hogmanay celebrations

Scotland prepares for Hogmanay celebrations

Scotland is preparing to welcome 2023 with large scale events for the first time in three years.

Street parties, bonfires, fireworks and torchlit processions will bring in the New Year across the country.

In Edinburgh, alongside the capital's street party the Pet Shop Boys will headline the Hogmanay concert in Princes Street Gardens.

About 30,000 people are expected to attend the party, in a scaled back event from the 60,000 of past years.

Neil Tennant, of the Pet Shop Boys, told BBC Scotland: "It's a really exciting show to play, when you get here you realise Hogmanay is a big deal in Edinburgh.

"We played it first nine years ago and it was just a fantastic audience, it's an amazing site with the castle above you and everyone's there to have a good time."

The duo have another tour planned for 2023, including their first Aberdeen gig in decades.


The Pet Shop Boys last played at Edinburgh's Hogmanay party in 2013

In Edinburgh, revellers will also be able to become part of the Hogmanay show with illuminated LED wristbands.

The wristbands are connected to the sound system, allowing people to create patterns in time with music played.

Organisers said all events on 31 December have sold out, including the candlelit concert in St Giles' Cathedral and the Festival of Ceilidhs Countdown to Hogmanay.

Meanwhile, the Edinburgh torchlit procession that traditionally kicks off Hogmanay and the New Year's "Loony Dook" at South Queensferry have both been cancelled.

A "Portobello Dook" organised by the community will instead allow people to welcome in the new year with a cold swim.

Although Edinburgh's procession is cancelled, other towns will welcome the new year with fire


In other parts of Scotland, Glasgow will celebrate with the Ashton Lane Street Party, featuring a live band, indoor and outdoor bars and fireworks.

There is also a party at the city's Merchant Square with performances from the French Fling Showgirls, Scott & The Fox and The Riffreshers.

In Aberdeen, locals can head to a Hogmanay ceilidh at the Beach Ballroom with music from the Hipflask Ceilidh Band.

Stirling has a series of events lined up, including live music at the Albert Halls, a ceilidh at the Tolbooth, and fireworks above the National Wallace Monument.

Scotland's largest free Hogmanay celebration takes place in Inverness, with the Red Hot Highland Fling providing live music.

It is hosted by stand-up comedian Fred MacAulay on the banks of the River Ness in Northern Meeting Park.

The tradition in Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire sees locals wield fire to ward off unwelcome spirits.

Around 40 men and women will be led by a piper up and down the High Street swinging fireballs around their heads just before midnight.

The tradition, which has been celebrated for more than 100 years, began as a cleansing ritual to burn off any bad spirits lingering from the old year to bring in a pure New Year.

Thousands of people turn out to see the fireworks in Edinburgh every year


Biggar, in South Lanarkshire, will also welcome in the New Year with fire.

Locals gradually add to a large pile of wood in the town centre in the weeks before Hogmanay, before it is lit in the hours leading up to the midnight countdown.

In Comrie, Perthshire, tall torches are set alight and paraded around the village at midnight.

The Comrie Flambeaux will be accompanied by music and people in fancy dress before the remnants of the torches are thrown into the River Earn.

After a Hogmanay ceilidh in Dufftown in Moray, people gather in The Square for the bells.

Drams of whisky and pieces of shortbread are distributed for midnight countdown, courtesy of the local Glenfiddich distillery and Walkers biscuit factory.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China’s Lifelike AI Humans Move From Livestreams Into Real-World Service Roles
UK Government Rolls Out £5.8 Billion Regional Investment Programme to Revive High Streets
AstraZeneca Ends Late-Stage Lung Cancer Trial After Data Shows No Survival Benefit
London Stocks Fall for Sixth Day as Bond Yields and Middle East Tensions Weigh on Markets
UK Government Rewrites Planning Rules to Accelerate Housing Near Transport Hubs
UK Wildfires Spread Across Southern England as Met Office Issues Severe Heat Warnings
British Doctors Warn Cancer Care Is at Risk as Hospitals Reject More Than a Quarter of Urgent Referrals
UK Hospitals Suspend Critical Care as Extreme Heat Exposes Infrastructure Failures
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Campaigners Press Government to Strengthen Rights for Four Million Gig Workers
Government Considers Higher Private Rents to Spread Asylum Accommodation Across UK
UK Moves to Protect Historic Pubs From Conversion Into Housing and Offices
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to House of Commons
British Manufacturers Report Rising Cybersecurity Threats Across Industrial Supply Chains
Royal Navy Increases Monitoring of Russian Ships in UK Waters by 25 Percent
England Adds More Than 350 Medical Training Posts to Strengthen NHS Capacity
NHS Waiting Lists Over 52 Weeks Rise by More Than 11,000 Patients
Brent Crude Near $88 Raises Fresh UK Energy Cost Concerns
UK Treasury Warns Prolonged Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Cut 2027 Growth to 0.3 Percent
UK Economy Grows 0.4 Percent in Second Quarter as Energy and Inflation Risks Persist
UK Heatwave Triggers Emergency Alert as Government Unveils £65 Million Farm Support Package
Reform UK Unveils Plan to Cut Welfare Spending by More Than £50 Billion a Year
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Praised Extinction Rebellion for Doing a 'Great Service'
UK Wildfire Phone Alert Triggers Backlash as Users Switch Off Emergency Warnings
Heathrow Roads Reopen After Burst Water Main Floods Access to Terminals 2 and 3
Former NBA Players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White Say They Will Enter 2027 WNBA Draft
Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Found Dead Days After Resigning Amid Plagiarism Row
US Appeals Court Rules AI Agent's Website Actions Are Legally Attributed to the User
France's Constitutional Council Blocks Social Media Ban for Children Under 15
Liechtenstein Changes Royal Succession Rules to Allow Women to Inherit the Throne
Women Allege Rape and Sexual Abuse at British Army College for Teenage Recruits
Minnesota: Two independent investigators posed as Muslims (one wearing a burqa) and showed how they could vote in elections without identification.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Takes Regional Tour to Highlight Local Infrastructure and Environmental Problems
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to the House of Commons
Bank of England Warns Rising Inflation Could Squeeze UK Household Incomes
UK Government Announces £65 Million Aid Package for Farmers Hit by Severe Drought
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Despite Energy Market Pressures
UK Issues Emergency Alert as Severe Wildfires Spread Across England and Wales
UK and Finland Discuss European Defence and Continued Support for Ukraine
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to the House of Commons
UK Government Deploys Military to Help Fight Wildfires and Bans Disposable Barbecues
UK Records Hottest Day of the Year as Fifth Summer Heatwave Peaks in Southern England
UK Condemns Houthi Actions and Warns of Red Sea Threat to Global Trade
UK and Solomon Islands Open Wildlife Photography Exhibition in Honiara
×