Forever Edinburgh: Edinburgh Zoo After Hours events return for summer 2021

As Edinburgh reopens for business, Edinburgh Zoo has announced the return of a truly wildly anticipated event for the summer.

Visitors will have the chance to get up close with the animals to see how they behave after hours

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The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has announced the return of Edinburgh Zoo’s popular After Hours events for the summer months this year.

Staff at the wildlife conservation charity are inviting visitors to take a wander through the zoo at night while also supporting critical fundraising efforts to feed and care for the animals and protect threatened species around the world.

The evenings at the zoo will run until mid-August

As well as the chance to see how the penguins and pandas spend their evenings, the event will include outdoor catering and bars, a digital trail around the zoo and live music sets on the park’s main lawn.

Jonathan Brown, events and experiences manager at Edinburgh Zoo said: “After Hours is a great opportunity to soak up the atmosphere of Edinburgh Zoo in the summer evenings. As we come out of lockdown and look to create new exciting memories with the ones we love, these events provide a unique night-out in the city.

“Lots of our animals, including our lions and new otter pups, are more active in the evening and guests can take part in a brand-new digital trail to learn more about them while enjoying our outdoor catering and live music on the main lawn.

“All of our daytime health and safety measures will still be in place, including extra toilets, social distancing and extra hand-washing stations. All visitors need to do is pre-book a ticket and enjoy the evening, while helping to care for our animals and support wildlife conservation all over the world.”

Over the past year, ongoing restrictions have heavily impacted the charity, with limits on visitor numbers thought to remain during the vital summer months. RZSS still faces repaying millions of pounds in loans due to the closure of its parks over the past year.

Jonathan added: “We would like to thank everyone for their continued support and we are excited to welcome more people back for our special evening events this summer.”

Edinburgh Zoo After Hours will run on select Friday and Saturday nights from June 4, 2021 to August 14, 2021.

Tickets cost £18 for adults and £11 for children.

To find out more visit edinburghzoo.org.uk/afterhours.

The Evening News is supporting Forever Edinburgh, a joint campaign between the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG) and VisitScotland. This encourages people to rediscover the city, its stories and places while supporting local businesses, promoting attractions, shops, bars and restaurants as lockdown eases.