Organisers declared a sell-out for the main 40,000-capacity party on Princes Street shortly 9pm, while around 10,000 other revellers attended ticketed events in Princes Street Gardens, the Assembly Rooms and St Giles’ Cathedral.
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The city’s Hogmanay festival, which has been running since 1993, has been valued at almost £50m in recent years.
And the city’s long-held reputation as one of the places to bring in the new year appeared to be firmly intact judging by the journeys made by many of those in the mood to party through till the early hours.
Around 50,000 revellers descended on Edinburgh city centre as the city’s Hogmanay celebrations bounced back. (Image: Steve Welsh/PA)
The global profile of the event is expected to be increased even further after the American broadcasting giant CNN decided to broadcast live from Edinburgh throughout the festival.
Free New Year’s Day concerts are also being live streamed for the first time from St Giles’ Cathedral and Greyfriars Kirk.
International bookings for the Hogmanay festival were said to have increased despite all of the outdoor events in the previous year’s programme falling victim to prolonged high winds.
Fen Corgat travelled all the way from Brisbane, in Australia, with a group of family and friends.
The Bairns Hogmanay Ceilidh Club got the dancing started early at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh. (Image: Gordon Terris)
She said: “None of us have been in Edinburgh before, but we have heard that it has one of the biggest new year celebrations in the world. We have big new year celebrations in Brisbane, but nothing like this. We thought it had to be worth experiencing at least once in a lifetime.
“We’ve just come out of a heatwave in Brisbane, where it’s been 35C, so it’s a bit colder in Edinburgh. We’ve been huddling together like penguins to keep warm.”
This group of Hogmanay revellers travelled from Brisbane in Australia to bring in the new year in Edinburgh. (Image: Gordon Terris)
Brazilians Beatriz Oliveira and Igor Fronio flew into Edinburgh from Dublin for the night to take in the Hogmanay festivities.
Ms Oliveira said: “We would usually go to the beach in Brazil to watch the fireworks. We’re planning to have some nice whisky here before we go to the street party.”
Zaimin Wang was in Edinburgh for the Hogmanay celebrations with her son Ronghan. (Image: Gordon Terris)
Aberdeenshire-born Becky Hunter travelled from Singapore with her partner Nor Asyraf were at the festivities with friend Rachel Williams, who travelled from Dubai.
Ms Hunter said: “I’ve not been home for a while and Nor has not been to Scotland before.
“Obviously Hogmanay is the biggest and best party in the Scottish calendar, so we decided we would bring in the new year in style.
“Compared to Singapore, which has an average temperature of 27-31C every day, it’s going to be chilly, but Scotland is one of friendliest places in the world.
“I’ve done new year in many other places and many other countries around the world but for me Hogmanay in Scotland is just the best.”
Zaimin Wang, who is originally from China but is working in Cardiff, was spending several days in the city with her son Ronghan.
She said: “The history and the architecture in Edinburgh are great, and the people are so warm and friendly here.”
Hebridean rockers Peat & Diesel headlined a Night Afore Concert in Princes Street Gardens as part of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festival. (Image: Jacinta Oaten)
Brazilian visitor Julia Gross and Glasgow-based boyfriend Tom Harrison were planning to return from Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations by public transport in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Harrison, who is originally from Merseyside and is currently studying in Glasgow, said: “We just decided to come through on the bus for a day out as it’s only an hour away from Glasgow.
Glasvegas were among the acts to appear at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festival. (Image: Anni Cameron)
“I felt Edinburgh would have a lot more going on for Hogmanay and it’s a lot more picturesque, but we both really wanted to see the fireworks.”
The Hogmanay festivities were well underway by early afternoon at the Assembly Rooms, on George Street, which hosted a Bairns Hogmanay Ceilidh Club.
Eleanor Passmore-Park, from Edinburgh, who was with her children Rhona and Euan at the event, said: “We thought it would be good fun for the kids as they’ve never actually been to a ceilidh before.
“It’s lovely to have something like this on during the day for a bit of dancing, as we don’t think they’ll make it through to the bells.”
The city’s four-day festival began with a torchlight procession through the city centre and included a full “Night Afore” line-up, including an open-air concert headlined by Hebridean rockers Peat & Diesel.
A full programme of events is being held across Edinburgh on New Year’s Day to round off the festival.
Three family-friendly Sprogmanay ceilidh dances are being held at the National Museum of Scotland, Assembly Roxy and Portobello Town Hall.
A free First Footin’ live music trail will feature acts including the Tinderbox Orchestra, Valtos, Kathryn Joseph, Rachel Sermanni, Her Picture, Sean Shibe, Aidan O’Rourke, Cahalen Morrison and Alice Faye.
Venues hosting gigs include St Giles’ Cathedral Greyfriars Kirk, the Fruitmarket Gallery, Cold Town House, Leith Arches and the Gilded Saloon.
The Hogmanay festival will be brought to a close with Muckle Be The Light, a special event at Portobello Town Hall hosted by Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen and Garbage singer Shirley Manson, which will feature appearances from former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Teenage Fanclub frontman Norman Blake.
The Herald revealed earlier this week how the Hogmanay festival is set to secure a share of Edinburgh’s controversial tourist tax to help secure the future of the festivities.
City council leader Jane Meagher said it was “reasonable to expect” some of the revenue generated by the new charging regime to be put back into the long-running festival given how much it generates for the Scottish capital.
She suggested the visitor levy, which will add five per cent to accommodations bills for stays in the city from July 2026, would have a “significant part” to play in improving the new year festival.
However the council leader has highlighted the importance of the festival, which has been running for more than 30 years, continuing to stage free events in future. And she said it was vital that the people of Edinburgh felt that the Hogmanay celebrations “belonged to them” to avoid resentment building up about the impact of the new year festivities.
The city council’s annual Hogmanay budget was reduced by more than a third to around £810,000 eight years ago and the cut has never been restored. Unlike most of the city’s major cultural events, the Hogmanay festival does not have any long-term funding from the Scottish Government.
Support secured in recent months for this year’s programme include £180,000 from the government’s Festivals Expo Fund, which was confirmed in June and is ringfenced for the First Footin’ programme.
The government agency EventScotland signed off a further £135,000 in November to help meet the costs of the torchlight procession curtain-raiser, which brought an estimated 25,000 people onto the streets of the city centre on Monday night.