Edinburgh Hogmanay 2022: Lineup including Pet Shop Boys, times and how to get tickets

Full festival for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay returns following three-year break

Following a three-year break caused by Covid restrictions, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is back and ready to light-up the city and show the world how to party into 2023! Join revellers from around the globe at three days of events in the ‘Home of Hogmanay’ from Friday, December 30, 2022 – Sunday, January 1, 2023, featuring incredible live music, spectacular fireworks and Street Party extravaganzas.

The return of the Hogmanay street party was announced in October by Unique Events and Assembly, the two companies who have secured a new contract with more than £4 million for up to five years. The festival was postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Organisers have pegged the capacity at 30,000 for their first year, half of what it was before the pandemic, to reduce possible crowd congestion in the main arena, which will be around the same size as previously, accessible from the top of The Mound, the east end of Princes Street and Frederick Street.

Concert in the Gardens

Edinburgh is set to welcome thousands of revelers to Princes Street for the Hogmanay celebrations this year, with acts including Callum Beattie (top right) and Pet Shop Boys (bottom right) performing in the Capital.

Limited tickets are still available for the main Edinburgh Hogmanay event, Concert in the Gardens, which this year will be headlined by 80s pop legends Pet Shop Boys, on December 31, in West Princes Street Gardens at the Ross Bandstand. The duo will welcome the arrival of 2023 with a greatest-hits show performed to an audience gathered in Edinburgh from around the world. Acclaimed as the most successful pop duo in the world, Pet Shop Boys return nine years after they played the sold-out event in 2013.

This year, for the first time ever, audience members will become part of the show with your very own LED wristbands to light up the night and unite everyone for a spectacular moment as we countdown to 2023. Tickets are still available, from £70.

Street Party

The world-famous Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party returns to the capital’s historic city centre this December to once again light up the Edinburgh skies at one of the world’s greatest New Year celebrations. Unfortunately, all tickets for this popular event are already sold out, as thousands of revelers from Edinburgh and across the world get set to bring in the bells for the New Year.

Set against the stunning backdrop of the Edinburgh Castle, 30,000 revellers from around the globe will dance their way into 2023 with live DJ soundtracks, giant screens, funfair attractions and a selection of street food and drink throughout the arena. And, for the first time ever, Street Party revellers will become part of the show and the spectacular Midnight Moment, with personal LED Wristbands lighting up the party on Princes Street, connecting friends old and new from around the world.

Night Afore Disco Party

The Night Afore Concert with Forth 1 in West Princes Street Gardens on December 30 6.45pm – 10pm, presents a glittering evening of pop glamour to kick-start Edinburgh's Hogmanay 2022 celebrations. Join pop princess Sophie Ellis-Bextor and special guests Altered Images to get the Edinburgh's Hogmanay party started at this all-new family event for disco divas of all ages. Forth 1 DJ Boogie will be your host for the evening, spinning the wheels of steel with dancefloor classics, spot-prize giveaways, and a few surprises.

Tickets, from £32.50, are still available for this event.

Final Fling

Scottish sensation Tide Lines will headline the inaugural New Year’s Day ‘Final Fling’, a showcase of Scotland’s finest musicians to close the 2022/23 Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations. Tide Lines will be joined by special guests Elephant Sessions and Edinburgh’s own Hamish Hawk in an all-Scottish line-up at the outdoor concert at West Princes Street Gardens on Sunday, January 1, 2023, 5.15pm – 9pm.

Tickets, priced £27.50- £50, are on sale now.

Candlelit Concert at St. Giles’ Cathedral

This year’s concert on December 31 at 6pm features John Rutter’s Gloria, Cecilia McDowall’s Christmastide Cantata A Winter’s Night,and Parry’s every popular I was glad, and much else besides. The Choir of St Giles’ Cathedral, directed by Michael Harris, with Jordan English, organ, is joined by the dazzling young brass ensemble, Carnyx Brass.

Tickets for this event cost £21.50.

First Footin’

New for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2022, First Footin’ presents an afternoon of free live music and performance taking place from 2-5pm in various city centre attractions, pubs and venues across both Old and New Town areas.

Audiences can explore the city, discovering (and rediscovering) some of Edinburgh’s incredible venues, landmark attractions and independent pubs, enjoying Hogmanay traditions of friendship, food and drink, along with live music performances from a feast of artists from across Scotland including Edinburgh’s own Callum Beattie, Tinderbox Orchestra & Friends, Roseanne Reid and much more.

Speaking about this inaugural event, Callum Beattie said: “I can’t wait to play in Edinburgh. We’ve had no shows there all year, and it’s just such an honour to be back in my home city. Myself and the band are all buzzing.”

Sprogmanay’

This free afternoon of fun for kids on New Year’s Day, at the National Museum of Scotland, is free, unticketed, with the events and activities operating on a ‘first come first served’ basis. You can expect lively pop-up performances and vibrant musical activities for all the family. The full programme for the event is still to be announced. As part of Sprogmanay, Sprogmanay Family Ceilidh, an afternoon of ceilidh dancing and fun on New Year’s Day, takes place at Edinburgh Ceilidh Club. A fun, relaxed ‘have-a-go’ environment suitable for all levels of experience, and a great way to introduce kids to the joys of ceilidh dancing and music.

Other Edinburgh Hogmanay events include The Haggis Chasers Ceilidh Band performing at the Roxy Theatre on December 31, 8.30pm – 1am. And The Alan Crookston Ceilidh Band will also perform at the Roxy Theatre, on December 30, 8pm – 11.30pm.