Edinburgh hosts the annual Hogmanay concert and fireworks beneath Edinburgh Castle.
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is a major New Year celebration in Scotland, with events that can include a torchlight procession, outdoor concerts, street festivities, and a midnight fireworks display. The castle provides the distinctive backdrop for the main fireworks, making the event recognizable in photographs and international broadcasts.
The modern festival developed from Edinburgh’s long-standing New Year customs and became a large organized event in the late twentieth century. Its name comes from Hogmanay, the Scottish term for New Year’s Eve and the surrounding celebrations. Although the word is Scottish, the city’s festival attracts visitors from many countries.
The castle fireworks should not be confused with the separate New Year events held elsewhere in Scotland. Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee also have their own celebrations, but Edinburgh is the city most closely identified with this particular castle-backed Hogmanay spectacle.