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Thousands to celebrate Edinburgh Hogmanay after last year’s cancellation

Scotland’s capital will welcome tens of thousands of people to celebrate the new year.

Edinburgh’s new year celebrations will go out with a bang on Wednesday (Jane Barlow/PA)
Edinburgh’s new year celebrations will go out with a bang on Wednesday (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Archive)

Thousands of revellers look set to welcome in the new year with the end of Edinburgh’s famous Hogmanay celebrations.

People were left disappointed last year after the festival was cancelled but forecasters expect dry conditions in the Scottish capital on New Year’s Eve this year.

Temperatures will reach about minus 2C in the city but festival-goers will avoid the weather warnings for snow and ice set to hit parts of Scotland from New Year’s Day at 6am.

Airspace restrictions are in force for unmanned aircraft to fly below 2,000ft above sea level within one nautical mile of Edinburgh Castle from 6pm on Wednesday until 2am on Thursday.

Elsewhere, the Stonehaven fireball ceremony will happen in Aberdeenshire and the annual Biggar bonfire will take place in South Lanarkshire, while ceilidhs and other cultural events will take place across the country.

Ahead of the new year, First Minister John Swinney had quoted Robert Burns’ Auld Lang Syne to urge people to show small acts of kindness in 2026.

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