Edinburgh claims to have the biggest New Year celebration in Europe and they're probably right. For the past few years the Scottish capital's annual New Year Festival has been building in scale and popularity attracting a cosmopolitan crowd of mainly young things from across the globe. With all that practise behind them this year's extravaganza is sure to be a momentous and memorable occasion. In Scotland the preferred title for New Year's Eve is 'Hogmanay' which means 'gift' and refers to the tradition of guests bringing presents on New Year's Day.

On the big night the main event is the (in)famous Street Party. The centre of the city is cordoned off from traffic by temporary gates turning the area into a huge pedestrian precinct. Princes Street, George Street, the Mound, the Royal Mile and various side streets are jam packed by eight or nine o'clock in the evening and, even in a city where practically every second building is a pub, patrons are soon spilling out on to the street. Which is not a bad place to be. Entertainments leading up to the all-important 10-second countdown have in the past included a Latin Fiesta in George Street, Ceilidh and pop bands on stage in Princes Street, street theatre, a carnival in Waterloo Place and, of course, the bonhomie of quarter of a million very merry people.