Road Closures For Edinburgh Hogmanay Events

The council has been prepping the public for road closures during Edinburgh's five-day Hogmanay Festival.

Roads will be closed in advance (see details below) and the council warns: "Vehicles should not be parked within restrictions. All offending vehicles will be removed and may be subject to a parking fine and impound charges."

The first of the Hogmanay events starts on Tuesday 29 December with the Torchlight Procession leaving from Parliament Square at 6.30pm, heading down The Mound, Princes Street, Waterloo Place and finishing with a firework finale on Calton Hill.

Off Kilter, a specially commissioned dance piece, runs throughout the festival from Tuesday 29 December – Saturday 2 January at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre.

On Wednesday 30 December, the Night Afore - Light Night will transform the High Street area into a spectacular hub of fire and light

The centrepiece of the Festival is Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party on Princes Street with 80,000 people gathering in the City Centre to welcome 2010.

The party continues on New Year’s Day with a full programme of events including debate at the Signet Library, Street Theatre on the Royal Mile, music performances in St Giles Cathedral and a reprise of the fire installations on the Royal Mile. Off Kilter’s run at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre ends on Saturday 2 January, closing the five day spectacular.

Full details on this year's Hogmanay Events

Road closure information, 2009-2010 Hogmanay

Tuesday 29 December: The Torchlight Procession
6:30pm – 8:00pm

The route is: the High St, Bank St, North Bank St, the Mound, Princes St, Waterloo Place, Regent Road to Carriage Drive on Calton Hill.

Parliament Square will close at 12:00pm.
High St, St Giles’ St and Lawnmarket will be closed from 4:00pm to 9pm.
The remainder of the Procession Route as well as Hanover St, George IV Bridge, North Bridge, Leith St and Waverley Bridge will close at 5:30pm. All streets will re-open at 9:00pm.
Parking restrictions will commence 2 hrs prior to the introduction of road closures, and at 3:30pm for diversion routes.

Wednesday 30 December: Night Afore: Light Night
Firelight with Carabosse
7:00pm – 11:00pm
Takes place on the High Street

High Street (between Cockburn Street and St Giles St) will be closed from 9:00am on 30th Dec until 10:00 am on 31st Dec.
Lawnmarket (between George IV Bridge and St Giles Street) and St Giles Street will close at 4pm on 30th Dec to 1:00am on 31st Dec.
Please note that parking will be restricted in St Giles Street from 2pm on 29th Dec all the way through to 8pm on 1st Jan.
Loading in the High Street will be permitted between 10am and Midday on 31st Dec.

Thursday 31 December: Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party
9:00pm – 1:00am
Takes place on Princes St, George Street, Rose St, Castle St, Frederick St, Hanover St, South St David St, South St Andrew St, Waverley Bridge, The Mound, Market St, North Bridge, Bank St, St Giles’ St, Mound Pl, Ramsay Lane and Ramsay Garden.

Road closures and parking restrictions will be introduced progressively in the city centre from 3:00am on Thursday 31 December to allow construction of the infrastructure required for the event.
Princes St will be closed at 3:00am between the West End and Sth St Andrews Street except for access/egress to Waverley Rail Station via South St David St and in its entirety from 6pm on Thursday 31 December.
Lasers and smoke / fog machine effects will be tested along the full length of Princes Street, between the approximate hours of 04:00 – 06:30am on Thursday 31 December 2009. Those same effects will be used during Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party between the hours of 00:05 – 01:00am on Friday 1 January 2010.

The High St and St Giles St will close at 12:00pm on Thursday 31 December.

The High Street and Lawnmarket will remain closed for the events taking place on Friday 1 January.
Hanover St (between Princes St and George St) and The Mound will close at 2.00pm.
At 6:00pm, all roads within the city centre not already fully closed, including Princes St, Rose St, Waverley Bridge, St Andrew Square (except for buses), Lawnmarket, Cockburn St, Market St, Lothian Rd (from West Approach Rd to Princes St) and Shandwick Place will close to vehicular traffic until the morning of Friday 1 January 2010.
George St will be closed at 9pm with Leith St (from Calton Rd to Waterloo Place), Waterloo Place and North and South Bridge closing to vehicles from 10:00pm on Thursday 31 December until 10:00am on Friday 1 January 2010.

Friday 1 January: Firelight with Carabosse
4:00pm – 8:00pm
Takes place on the High Street

The Royal Mile (between Cockburn Street and George IV Bridge) will be closed from 10.00am on 1st until 1:00pm on 2nd Jan 2010.
The section of the Royal Mile between St Giles Street & George IV Bridge and St Giles Street itself will be open at 10pm on 1st Jan 2010.

Friday 1 January: New Man Walking

The New man wakes at 4:30pm at Holyrood and walks at 5:00pm (from Holyrood to Tron)