http://www.partyideasforyou.com/hogmanay-in-scotland-2009/
The City of Edinburgh in southeast Scotland has been the capital of Scotland since 1437 – 55 years before Columbus discovered the New World. With a population of approximately 470,000, Edinburgh is Scotland’s second largest city (after Glasgow) and the United Kingdom’s seventh largest. Edinburgh lies on the east coast of what is called the Central Belt, Scotland’s area of highest population density. In spite of the name name, the Central Belt area is in the south, not the centre, of the country.
Edinburgh is widely considered to be among the most picturesque cities in all of western civilization. Its setting among cargs of basalt volcanic plugs created 350 million years ago and then smoothed and chopped in the ensuing ice ages, is remarkable to the eye in and of itself. The local geography is only enhanced by the greatest collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture and stone tenements in all of Europe.
The Edinburgh Festival, an annual menagerie of book, theatre, music and art performances and exhibits held every summer, has grown in importance throughout the English speaking world over the past quarter of a century. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the largest theatre arts festival in the world. It is complemented by the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Edinburgh Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
The on-going success of the Edinburgh Festival is testament to the city’s reputation, earned during the Enlightenment, as the “Athens of the North.” The longest established festival included under the generic rubric of ‘The Edinburgh Festival’ is the Edinburgh International Festival, which began in 1947. Now serving as a warm up to the much larger Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival programs classical theatre and music productions, attracting directors, conductors, orchestras and theatre companies of international stature.
Edinburgh attracts over a million foreign visitors every year – half of them during the Festival. Other events that visitors might find of interest include Hogmanay – Scottish New Years Eve – Burns Night on January 25th, St. Andrew’s Day on November 30th and the Beltane Fire Festival on April 30th. (30 April).
A Hogmanay Party From Scotland on YouTube Trailer (Goes Live 31st Dec 2009)