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Hogmanay Helps You Discover the Best of Scotland

There’s no better way to get yourself ready for the new year than to learn about Hogmanay, a festival that takes place over the course of 3 days and welcomes over 150,000 visitors from more than 70 different countries. 

Pete Irvine, Director of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay helps travellers discover the very best of Scotland. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Festival started in 1993 to celebrate a very traditional Scottish holiday in a contemporary style in the heart of Scotland’s capital city. The Festival still takes place in the very centre of Edinburgh and has grown significantly over the last 24 years. Celebrations are broadcast on news channels in 150 countries around the world.

Pete Irvine, Director Edinburgh's Hogmanay c Phoebe Grigor (low res)

What inspired you to create this event?

While Scotland, particularly Edinburgh, has always had a strong appeal to visitors from both the UK and around the world, it was traditionally a summer destination. We thought that developing an original, exciting and high profile winter festival around the very traditional Hogmanay celebrations would increase audiences to the city through the quieter winter months. Where better than Edinburgh for such a celebration? Our Capital City, with the natural amphitheatre of Princes Street Gardens and Edinburgh Castle providing the dramatic backdrop and stage for our spectacular fireworks displays.

We also wanted to provide a stage for some of Scotland’s musical and artistic talent, and are able to do this not only through the world famous Street Party – which this year not only features a Scottish stage, but also a full Scottish line-up for the sold-out Concert in the Gardens – but also through our events on January 1st. Scot:Lands takes over New Year’s Day as a multi-arts festival in its own right offering a scintillating selection of the best of Scotland’s artistic talent – intriguing, provocative, sometimes reflective; always entertaining. With many of the performances created or re-imagined exclusively for Scot:Lands, this pop-up Festival offers one chance, on one afternoon only, for audiences to enjoy an extraordinary collection of spoken word, dance, music and film, fashioned and curated by some of Scotland’s most innovative artists and arts organizations.

Edinburgh's Hogmanay 2015 - Midnight Fireworks 31st Dec - credit Chris Watt

How do you work with bloggers, vloggers, or the travel industry to amplify the event?

#blogmanay was conceived in 2012 as a means of welcoming travel bloggers and social media influencers and generating a high-impact social media campaign to showcase the unique experience of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, whilst using the Festival as a gateway to explore and discover the delights of visiting Scotland during the winter months.

Now in its fourth year, #blogmanay 2015/16 will once again welcome bloggers who specialise in travel, lifestyle, culture, photography, adventure and food and drink to Edinburgh’s Hogmanay from China, USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, France and across the UK to enjoy not only the events in the city, but also an exciting and original Scottish winter experience.

Working with our own social media team to amplify their posts, images and videos, the #blogmanay bloggers generate millions of impressions over the relatively short period of time they are in Scotland, influencing travellers around the world to make Scotland their next trip, holiday or festive celebration.

Edinburgh's Hogmanay 2015 - Torchlight Procession 30th December credit Lloyd Smith


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