Hogmanay party ‘at risk’ from gardens crackdown
● Events firm defends park’s commercial use
Edinburgh’s world-famous Hogmanay celebrations could be at risk if a clampdown on the “commercialisation” of Princes Street Gardens over the winter is ordered, it has been claimed.
Organisers of the Christmas and New Year events say they may have to be dramatically scaled back if the park is considered sacrosanct.
Underbelly, which has an £800,000 contract to produce the two events, says the scale and quality of the Hogmanay festival is reliant on income from market stalls, bars and fairground rides.
The future of Edinburgh’s world-famous Hogmanay celebrations would be put at risk if a clampdown is ordered on the“commercialisation” of Princes Street Gardens over the winter, it has been claimed.
Organisers of the city’s Christmas and New Year events have raised fears that the two events, which are worth more than £150 million to the economy, may have to be dramatically scaled back if the park is considered sacrosanct.
Underbelly, the company which has an £800,000 annual contract to produce the two events, say the scale and quality of three-day Hogmanay festival is now reliant on income from market stalls, bars and fairground rides.
Underbelly director Charlie Wood insisted cash generated from the use of the gardens had allowed Underbelly to maintain a £4m budget for the Hogmanay festival despite the public funding for the event being cut from £1.6m to £996,000 in two years.
He revealed that Underbelly had ambitions to “maintain and grow” the scale and quality of the Hogmanay festival, despite insisting that the event had made a loss over the last two years.
Councillors agreed a £450,000 cut in the winter festivals budget when the tender was put out to the events industry in 2017. Around £200,000 of this had previously been allocated to the Christmas festival, which the council insisted did not need a subsidy.
Underbelly’s concerns have emerged after councillors ordered a review of the events in response to concerns about their impact on the gardens and other public spaces.
A campaign, Citizen, is also under way to “defend” Edinburgh against over-tourism, privatisation of public spaces and the impact of “festivalisation” of the city.
Mr Wood said: “We’re very proud that we have managed to make the Christmas festival
Underbelly director
a very commercial event. It has essentially allowed the Hogmanay festival to be maintained at the same level but at a substantially lower burden to the taxpayer.
“The city needs to decide whether it wants to sustain the current operating basis of the Christmas and Hogmanay events, and whether these highly popular events, which bring a lot of visitors into the city and sell tickets to increasing numbers of local residents, should be allowed to continue.
“This is about whether people want Princes Street Gardens to be used for Edinburgh’s Christmas.
“If they don’t, that’s fine. We can move on and the city can move on.
“But there is no way these events are sustainable now without the use of the gardens.
“If you don’t have East Princes Street Gardens, then you don’t have Christmas and you don’t have Hogmanay. That’s the bottom line.”
COMMENT
“This is about whether people want Princes Street Gardens to be used for Edinburgh’s Christmas. If they don’t, that’s fine. We can move on.”
CHARLIE WOOD