On 30th December the historic streets of Edinburgh’s Old Town will flow with a river of fire as thousands gather for the magical Torchlight Procession, providing a suitably magical start to Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.
Families, friends, residents and visitors will join pipe, drum and dance bands from across Scotland, including Edinburgh Samba Band, Glencorse Pipe Band and Hawick Scout Pipe Band generating a blistering beat to accompany the blazing Procession. Leading the charge this year is a 40 strong cast from Scotland’s pioneering Celtic Fire Theatre company, PyroCeltica who’s Highland Warriors showcase a dazzling array of fire skills featuring fire fans, huge flaming claymores and fire staffs, set to the booming beats of the Harbinger Drummers.
#ScotArt – Marking the conclusion of Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018, puts young people at the heart of the Torchlight Procession and the opening of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. Following months of debate and discussion with 100s of young people across the county, the 14 incredible #ScotArt wicker sculptures capturing the pride, passion and creativity of Scotland’s young people across its regions will form the fiery heart of Scotland, creating a spectacular finale to the Year of Young People 2018 with an iconic visual moment to be shared with the world.
#ScotArt Young Champions who have led the nationwide youth engagement project, each carrying a banner emblazoned with their regional symbol join young pipe and drum bands at the head of the Torchlight Procession down the Royal Mile into Holyrood Park where the Procession will form the distinctive outline of Scotland lit by thousands of torches. The #ScotArt sculptures then come together to form a heart shape at the centre of this outline of Scotland. As the heart is lit, young people are placed at the country’s beating heart symbolically representing a collective national youth voice, offering symmetry to the #ScotWord project delivered to herald the arrival of 2018 and book-ending the Year of Young People events programme.
Following the grand #ScotArt collective moment, those gathered can keep warm by dancing to an evening of top entertainment, including performance from PyroCeltica, DJ Calverto, The Torches and a very special headline performance from Stephanie Cheape, Scotland’s new vixen of dark pop before the night comes to a sparling end with fireworks lifting from Calton Hill at 9pm.
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay renews its partnership with One City Trust, donating 50 pence from every ticket sold for the Torchlight Procession to the Trust as the Torchlight Procession Charity Partner.
Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam, directors of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay said:
The Torchlight Procession is Edinburgh’s Hogmanay’s iconic opening event and this year will close the Year of Young People with ScotArt. We’re expecting tens of thousands on the Procession and as spectators. At the finale on Holyrood Park, the torchbearers will form the burning outline of Scotland and in the middle. the ScotArt sculptures, which have been designed by young people across Scotland will be put together in a heart shape and set alight. The image will rightly place young people and their creativity right at the heart of Scotland.