Dundee Rep in bid to bring Hogmanay tent to Slessor Gardens

Celebrations: Spiegeltent would be centrepiece for city’s 2018 winter festival and would host the jazz festival

A giant tent could be erected in Slessor Gardens for Dundee’s Hogmanay celebrations in 2018.

Dundee Rep and the Scottish Dance Theatre are behind a bid to bring the Spiegeltent to the city.

The tent would be on site for five weeks and would be used to host the Dundee jazz festival before becoming the centrepiece for a winter festival.

It could then host a major Hogmanay celebration to usher in 2019.

The Spiegeltent is a regular venue during the Edinburgh Festival and has been used during the Edinburgh jazz and blues festival.

A feasibility study into the Dundee project has been carried out by the Electric Theatre Workshop.

It is understood The Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre will apply to Event Scotland for funding in February next year if they decide to press ahead with the plans.

If the bid to bring the tent to Dundee is successful, it will be set up in the city in the third weekend of November 2018.

For the first nine days it would be used to host the jazz festival, with concerts taking place inside.

After that, it could serve as a base for a Christmas market before becoming the main venue for a large New Year celebration – something Dundee has not had since the turn of the millennium.

The Rep hosted a meeting earlier this year with tourism groups, including the Dundee and Angus Visitors Accommodation Association, to discuss the plans.

It is hoped the venture will bring thousands more visitors to the city at a time when occupancy rates in hotels are traditionally low.

The Rep’s original brief for the plan says: “The ambition for this project is to attract both locals and tourists into the city centre.

“An exciting, new, focused festive event in the heart of the city will encourage existing tourists to stay longer and spend more; as well as attracting new tourists to the city.

“The annual Dundee Jazz Festival is promoted by Jazz Scotland with support from the City Council and runs for just over a week in the second half of November.

“Using venues across the city, including pubs and theatres like the Gardyne and the Rep, Dundee Jazz has an ambition to add another venue, allowing them to bring more acts to the city.

“An ideal capacity would be around 300-350.”

Dundee Rep was asked to comment on the proposal but had not responded at the time of going to press.

An exciting, new, focused festive event in the heart of the city will encourage existing tourists to stay longer and spend more

Picture: Steven Brown. The huge tent is a regular venue during the Edinburgh Festival.