Edinburgh city council 'confident' of delivering Christmas market

Edinburgh City Council has revealed it is “confident” of delivering a Christmas market in the city after the hosts of the event pulled out.

A spokesperson for the council said on Thursday that they were “hugely disappointed” that Angels Event Experience, which runs the popular festive attraction, confirmed it would not be organising the markets for 2022.

The announcement comes just weeks before the start of the annual event, which was due to run from November 19 to January 3.

Edinburgh City Council has now revealed that “positive” discussions are ongoing regarding the delivery of the iconic winter attraction.

Council leader, Cammy Day, said: “Positive discussions are ongoing around delivering Edinburgh’s Christmas for the city this year and I’m confident we’ll be able to offer a great programme, including the ever-popular Christmas markets, funfair and some exciting new attractions.

“We’ll make a further announcement early next week once councillors from all parties have had the chance to view the plans.”

The markets, which usually see around 80 stalls, a giant ferris wheel, a Christmas tree maze and Santa’s grotto, have been a main element of Scotland’s Christmas celebrations.

This year’s festivities in the capital, which usually see around 80 stalls, a giant ferris wheel, a Christmas tree maze and Santa’s grotto, were expected to be the first return to the full programme since the pandemic.

The announcement just comes days after Market Place Europe, the organisers behind Glasgow’s Christmas Markets, confirmed they would not be hosting the city’s event this year.