Edinburgh’s winter festivals said to have received widespread public backing

FESTIVE celebrations being hosted in Edinburgh – including a Christmas market – are said to have received widespread public backing.

Following responses to a survey, involving move than 8,600 people and 35 organisations, on the future of Edinburgh’s Winter Festivals, there was 87 per cent support for a Christmas celebration and 86 per cent for Hogmanay.

Says an announcement issued by The City of Edinburgh Council, here: “It is proposed that a procurement exercise will be undertaken to identify a producer to deliver Edinburgh’s Christmas for an one-year pilot, using the clear feedback from the consultation to ensure that it meets the needs of residents and businesses and is of appropriate scale.”

But the Edinburgh heritage organisation, the Cockburn Association, have questioned the relevance of the findings, claiming (here) that – of those surveyed – just two per cent of respondents live in the city centre.

Among other findings from the survey:

• Food and beverages (82 per cent), musical performances (77 per cent) and activities for children (76 per cent) were the top preferred activities for Christmas.
• Fireworks (79 per cent), lighting installations (77 per cent) and live music performances (75 per cent) were the top three preferred activities for Hogmanay.
• Alcoholic drinks (56 per cent) and funfair rides (47 per cent) were the least wanted activities for Christmas celebrations.
• Street party and mass gathering (49 per cent) was the least wanted activity.
• Respondents also called for future winter celebrations to have local involvement of artists and performers and Scottish/local culture.
• In response to making Christmas and Hogmanay more accessible to people with disabilities, physical access issues such as wheelchair accessibility and restrictions on the number of people attending dominated.

Picture credit: Place Design Scotland