Big Hogmanay bashes scaled down as organisers take cold feet at cuts

IT is renowned the world over as the home of Hogmanay.

But spending cuts and recent poor ticket sales are set to see the lowest-key celebrations in Scotland for years after it emerged major events to hail the New Year will either be cancelled completely or scaled back.

Oban, Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth and Aviemore are among those areas without major parties this year while Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling are all scaling back.

Tourism body VisitScotland is relying on small-scale community celebrations in Stonehaven, Biggar and Comrie to try to lure visitors as there are so few major outdoor events to promote.

The capacity of Glasgow's annual bash in George Square, an annual fixture for more than 20 years, has been cut in half from 10,000 to 5,000 people.

And the event will feature ceilidh bands rather than the big-named pop and rock headliners of yesteryear, such as Paolo Nutini, Deacon Blue, Amy Macdonald and Snow Patrol, who have topped the bill in the past.

Stirling Castle's event, which is still without a headline act even though tickets have gone on sale, has had its capacity cut from 7,000 to about 4,000. Previous acts have included The Proclaimers, Lulu, and Sandi Thom.

Edinburgh's celebrations, to be headlined by rockers Biffy Clyro, will have a reduced capacity of 80,000, down from the usual 100,000, after failing to sell out last year when tramworks saw the event scaled back, while the capital's programme will get underway a day later than normal as part of a cost-cutting drive.

Council leaders in Dundee and Aberdeen told The Scotsman there would be no major outdoor concerts, although Aberdeen will have a fireworks display at midnight.

Just five events are being promoted on VisitScotland's website - including a torchlit procession and bonfire in Biggar, which dates back to pagan times, a fireball throwing celebration in Stonehaven, and a Hogmanay bash in Drumnadrochit.However, Inverness, which was forced to cancel a free outdoor concert last year due to snow, has decided to go ahead with the event, and has confirmed Blazin' Fiddles, Peatbog Faeries and Red Hot Chilli Pipers in its line-up.

A spokesman for Glasgow Life, the arm's-length council firm which runs the Hogmanay party in George Square, admitted the event would have a much smaller budget.

He said: "It will have a different format this year, with a more traditional celebration and several ceilidh bands playing, rather than the concert format.

"We have run similar events on St Andrew's Day which have been very successful so we've decided to do something similar on Hogmanay, but the capacity will be much smaller than in previous years."

A spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council, which has lined up Wet Wet Wet, Travis and Liberty X in previous years, said: "We will be making funding available to community groups to stage their own Hogmanay celebrations."

Ann Marie Miller, station manager at Central FM, who jointly promoted last year's Stirling Castle concert, said: "We decided not to get involved this year after the council decided to put in a much smaller budget."

Oban's outdoor celebration was scaled back at the 11th-hour last year after failing to sell out. A spokeswoman for Argyll and Bute Council said: "The council isn't organising an event in Oban and are not aware of anything major being planned along the lines of previous years."

In contrast, Gerry Reynolds, events officer in Inverness, said: "I think people thought we wouldn't want to try again after last year, when we lost around 90,000, but it's all systems go."

Peter Rae, one of the Biggar organisers, said: "Our crowds have been getting bigger and bigger every year.

"And we're expecting about 7,000 people this year."