Edinburgh hosts the annual Hogmanay Torchlight Procession, which passes through the city’s historic centre and is associated with Calton Hill.
The procession is one of the best-known events in Edinburgh’s Hogmanay program. Participants carry torches through the city, creating a large moving stream of light before New Year celebrations continue with concerts, street events, and fireworks.
Edinburgh’s setting is important to the event’s identity: the route and surrounding Old Town connect the modern festival with the city’s historic architecture. Calton Hill also offers a prominent viewpoint over the central city.
Other Scottish cities hold their own New Year celebrations, and Glasgow has major Hogmanay-related events, but Edinburgh is the city specifically identified with this famous torchlight procession. Hogmanay itself is a national Scottish tradition rather than a celebration limited to the capital.