Edinburgh Underbelly Hogmanay 2019: tickets, events, banned items and everything else you need to know

The countdown to 2020 is officially on - have you got your New Year plans sorted yet?
Have you got your Hogmanay plans sorted? (Photo: Shutterstock)Have you got your Hogmanay plans sorted? (Photo: Shutterstock)
Have you got your Hogmanay plans sorted? (Photo: Shutterstock)

This is everything you need to know about the Edinburgh Underbelly Hogmanay 2019 celebrations.

What’s on?

There are a whole host of events organised by Underbelly that you can choose from to ring in the New Year on 31 December.

This is everything that’s on:

Street Party hosted by Johnnie Walker

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As part of the Street Party, you can celebrate the New Year hosted by Love Island’s Aftersun DJs, The Mac Twins. You’ll be treated to entertainment from 7:30pm until well into the night. The Street Party will end with Louise Marshall piping revellers out.

You’ll also get a complimentary Johnnie Walker Premix Highball Cocktail.

This is the schedule for the night:

Waverley Stage:

- 9pm - Kier Gibson

- 9:45pm - The Ninth Wave

- 11:05pm - Marc Almond

- 12:15am - PorkPie

Johnnie Walker Stage:

- 9pm - The Great Calverto

- 10:05pm - Arielle Free

- 12:12am - The Mac Twins

High Street Stage (in Parliament Square):

- 9pm - Vanlves

- 9:45pm - Idlewild

- 11pm - The Snuts

- 12:08pm - Shooglenifty

Street Theatre:

- Compagnie Remue Menage

- PyroCeltica

- Harbingers Drum Crew

- Dundu

- Close-act Theatre

- Picto Facto

- Gandini Juggling

- Underdogs Presented By Avant Garde Dance

- Circus Alba

You can also join in on the silent disco on Market Street - you’ll get a pair of headphones with three channels to choose from: Guilty Pleasures with DJ James Longworth, Club Classics with DJ Jez Hill or Busting Grooves with the roaming Silent Adventurers.

Tickets to the Silent Disco can be bought at the checkout when buying your street party ticket.

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Street Party tickets can be bought online on the Edinburgh Hogmanay website. They cost £31.50 and the Silent Disco add on costs £5.50. Alternatively, you can buy Silent Disco tickets on the door, but they will cost £10.

No entry will be permitted to the Street Party after 10:30pm, so make sure you arrive early. Doors open at 7:30pm. Re-entry is not permitted, so if you leave the Street Party area, you will not be able to get back in.

No-one under 12 years old will be permitted to the Street Party and those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult over the age of 18 at all times.

Entrances locations are found at Princes Street West End, Princes Street East End and Bank Street.

Mark Ronson’s Hogmanay in the Gardens

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You can celebrate Hogmanay in style with Grammy and Oscar Award winner Mark Ronson, Rudimental DJ and Mungo’s Hi Fi.

This is the schedule:

- 8:30pm - 9:20pm: Mungo’s Hi Fi

- 9:30pm - 10:40: Rudimental

- 11pm - 1am: Mark Ronson

Tickets for Mark Ronson’s Hogmanay in the Gardens includes a Hogmanay Street Party wristband as well.

Tickets cost £75 and can be found from the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay website here. No one under 12 years old is permitted to the event and those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult over the age of 18 at all times.

Entry to the venue can be found by The Mound, Princes Street West End and King’s Stables Road for the accessible entrance.

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Access to Mark Ronson’s Hogmanay in the Gardens is only permitted until 11pm, so make sure and get there early to allow time to queue.

Unlike the Street Party, alcohol is prohibited from being brought into the gardens.

Ceilidh under the Castle

If Hogmanay to you is having a jig and a dance, then Ceilidh under the Castle is for you. With a full ceilidh band and plenty of local food and drink to keep you dancing into the night, this years music will be brought to you by three ceilidh bands: Sleekit Beasties, Sykte! And Cool Ceol Ceilidh Band.

At midnight, welcome in the new year with an incredible fireworks display at the iconic Edinburgh Castle.

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Tickets cost £65 and can be bought from the Edinburgh Hogmanay website.

The arena opens at 7:30pm and entry to the venue will be stopped after 10:30pm, so make sure and get there early.

No alcohol can be brought to the Ceilidh under the Castle and if you leave the arena, you won’t be permitted re-entry.

There are no age restrictions for this event, and while children are welcome, it is not recommended for very young children or babies in arms. No buggies will be allowed into the venue.

All the other events

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The Edinburgh Underbelly Hogmanay includes loads more events on 31 December, including:

- Bairns Afore: a family friendly event hosted by children’s TV legends Dick and Dom. Doors open at 4pm and tickets cost £8.50 for the gardens venue or £13 for the enclosure

- Ronnie Scott’s Big Band in Concert: This event at McEwan Hall will let you enjoy the Ronnie Scott’s Big Band playing their blend of blues, jazz and swing. Tickets are £68 and includes access to The Street Party

- G’day 2020 with Kylie Auldist: Kickstart your New Year with Kylie Auldist, ‘the high priestess of Melbourne Soul’ and leading lady of Australian funk and soul group ‘The Bamboos’. Tickets cost £33

Banned items

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With an event as huge as the Edinburgh Underbelly Hogmanay events, safety measures need to be put in place to ensure that everyone attending has safe New Year celebrations.

This is the important information you need to know about the Street Party:

- Bags might be searched upon entry for safety reasons

- Remember your ticket or wristband - you won’t be permitted entry without it

- No drinks containers over 500ml will be allowed into the arena. Maximum number of containers per person is four

- No glass, including bottles, will be permitted

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- Drugs, banned substances and ‘legal highs’ are also banned

- No large bags (must be smaller than 40x30x20cm or roughly the size of a sheet of A3 paper)

- No pyrotechnics, fireworks or flares

- No laser pointers

- Nothing that could be considered a weapon, blade or scissors

- No flammable liquids or gas canisters (including nitrous oxide)

- No drones

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- No pets (other than registered hearing dogs or guide dogs)

Getting home

With an event the scale of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, you might find it more difficult than usual to get around. This is the important travel information you need to know to ensure you get home safely:

- On 31 December, Edinburgh Trams will be running a free tram service to get you home between the hours of midnight to 5am

- On 31 December, Lothian Buses will be offering Hogmanay Tickets for £5, which allows unlimited travel from 6pm on 31 December to 4am on 1 January

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- Special services from Lothian Buses will be running from midnight until 4am of 1 January - you can find out more on the Lothian Buses website

- You can pre-book a taxi with Capital Cars Scotland on Hogmanay as well to make sure you get home safe

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