London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 21, 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
Housebuilding Across Scotland Plummets to Eleven-Year Low Despite Government Pledges to Tackle National Housing Emergency
Greggs Announces Factory Closures Across Northern England and Scotland Affecting Seven Hundred Forty Jobs
United Kingdom and Singapore Conclude Eleventh Financial Dialogue in Singapore to Deepen Cooperation on Digital Finance and Capital Markets
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs to Gas Bills and Tap Windfall Profits to Lower Consumer Prices
British Broadcasting Corporation Announces Major Cost-Cutting Overhaul to Close Linear Broadcast Services for Television Channels BBC Three and BBC Scotland Alongside Digital Radio Station BBC Radio Four Extra
London Capital Markets Face Renewed Scrutiny After High-Profile Offerings Underperform Post-Listing
Green Party Wins Historic First Westminster Parliamentary By-Election in Gorton and Denton
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds Unveils Sweeping Regulatory Overhaul for English Water Industry
United Kingdom Health Security Agency Confirms Thirty-Four Cases in Kent Meningitis Outbreak
Ministry of Defence Prepares Heat Pump Subsidy Cuts to Fund Urgent Military Modernization
British and European Union Officials Schedule Long-Awaited Bilateral Leaders Summit for November Twentieth
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Urges Strict Fiscal Credibility to Protect British Bond Markets
United Kingdom Inflation Rises to Three Point One Percent Driven by Escalating Fuel Costs
Profit Warnings Among London-Listed Companies Reach Two-Year High Amid Global Energy Shocks
Chancellor John Healey Signals Targeted Tax Changes on Banks and London Corporate Offices Ahead of Budget
British Government Reallocates Twenty-Five Per Cent of International Climate Finance to Global Biodiversity Projects
Initial British Carbon Border Taxes Set to Undercut Parallel European Union Tariffs on Industrial Imports
Whitehall Prepares National Zero-Interest Loan Initiative to Accelerate Domestic Heat Pump and Solar Adoption
European Union Offers British Automakers Access to Hybrid Vehicle Trade Protections Subject to Strict Regulatory Alignment
British Probation Officers Threaten Widespread Industrial Action After Rejecting Five Per Cent Government Pay Offer
Microsoft Abandons Major British Artificial Intelligence Data Centre Citing Severe National Grid Power Constraints
United Kingdom Inflation Accelerates to Three Point Four Per Cent Ahead of Chancellor John Healey's Inaugural Autumn Budget
Surging Cloned Number Plates Severely Complicate Traffic Enforcement and Police Investigations
Mounting Opposition Challenges Planned Rollout of Autonomous Taxis Across London
Influential Think Tank Urges Rejoining European Union to Navigate Geopolitical Crises
Government Review Recommends Slashing Benefits to Fund Youth Employment Initiatives
Senior Minister Shabana Mahmood Seeks New Law Enforcement Pact With European Union
Airbus Executive Warns Britain Risks Losing Crucial Role in European Space Industry
Exorbitant Electricity Costs Push British Steelmakers to Worst Competitive Position in Three Years
British Food and Beverage Exports to European Union Collapse by Over a Third Since Brexit
Up to Twenty English Maternity Units Face Impending Closure Due to Safety and Staffing Crises
Government Declares Severe Drought Across Southern England Following Record Dry Spell
Corporate Profit Warnings Reach Two-Year High Amid Middle East Conflict and Rising Costs
International Monetary Fund Warns Chancellor John Healey Against Proposed Bank Tax Raid
Northern Ireland Secures Favorable Agricultural Export Agreement with European Union
Scottish Government Approves Major Offshore Floating Wind Farm Near Aberdeenshire
High Speed Two Rail Project Faces Three Billion Pound Cost Escalation on Initial Phase
National Health Service Warns of Winter Capacity Crisis Across English Hospitals
Tata Steel Confirms Two Thousand Job Cuts at Port Talbot to Fund Green Transition
Global Microchip Developer Announces Three Billion Pound Semiconductor Plant in Cambridge
United Kingdom Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Proposes Mandatory Licensing for Generative Models
United Kingdom Commits Additional Long-Range Weapons and Air Defenses to Ukraine
British Chancellor Overhauls Infrastructure Financing to Bypass Borrowing Constraints
Bank of England Holds Benchmark Interest Rate at Four Point Five Percent
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth Confirms Constitutional Discussions Over Welsh Independence During Initial Bilateral Call with Prime Minister
Labour Party Instructs Local Council Groups to Sever Power-Sharing Accords with Green Party Over New Controversial Policy Positions
Institute for Fiscal Studies Warns of Thirty-Five Billion Pound Fiscal Gap Ahead of Chancellor John Healey Upcoming Autumn Budget
House of Lords Backs Landmark Legislative Amendment to Decriminalize Abortion Across England and Wales
United Kingdom Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Travels to Pentagon for High-Level Strategic Talks Amid Escalating Tensions Over Ukraine and United States Policy Shifts
Bank of England and International Monetary Fund Officials Issue Urgent Warnings Regarding Potential Artificial Intelligence Financial Market Shocks
×