Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebration was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year’s celebrations, and Edinburgh’s event is one of Scotland’s best-known annual festivals. Its programme commonly includes concerts, a torchlight procession, street celebrations and fireworks near Edinburgh Castle.
The 2020–21 celebrations could not proceed in their normal public form because Scotland introduced restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay was later presented through a digital programme rather than a conventional mass street party.
Hogmanay is not the same event as Burns Night, which honours poet Robert Burns on 25 January. The Edinburgh festival’s central date is 31 December, although Scottish New Year customs continue into the following days.