Plug pulled on Edinburgh's Christmas extravaganza

Edinburgh’s Christmas festival has been cancelled to stop huge crowds gathering in the capital.

The annual extravaganza usually attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors who spend millions of pounds.

Plans had been in place for markets and rides to be spread out across the city more than usual, but the celebrations will now take place entirely online.

The city council said it made the decision after talks with public health experts about the spread of coronavirus.

The world-renowned Hogmanay party in Edinburgh was cancelled earlier this year.

Underbelly, the producer of the winter festivals, described the decision was “very sad”.

Charlie Wood, the Underbelly director, said: “We very much wanted to bring some festive cheer and light to Edinburgh this Christmas and to support local makers and producers, at the end of what has been a challenging year for everyone.

“Public health is our absolute number one priority, and with the ongoing uncertainty concerning Covid-19 and the possibility of further restrictions, we have taken the collective and very sad decision with the council, NHS Lothian and Scottish Government not to proceed with this year’s Edinburgh’s Christmas sites in the city centre.

“There will be no public events which might encourage gatherings of people at either Edinburgh’s Christmas or Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.”