TWO firms are understood to be in the running for the contract to lay on this year's Hogmanay celebrations in the Capital.
It was reported today that Event International will be going head-to-head with Edinburgh's own Unique Events.
City council officials were said to be divided over which should handle the £1.7 million four-day programme of events. Despite problems
in recent years due to the weather, and question marks over its future, Hogmanay remains one of Edinburgh's premiere events and is worth more than £35m to the city's economy.
A senior council source was reported as saying: "Unique Events has a long track record of producing successful events around Scotland. However, there is a strong argument for bringing in a company with new and imaginative ideas."
A second insider added: "It would be a huge embarrassment if this contract went down south or overseas. What would that say about the homegrown nature of the celebrations?"
A council spokeswoman simply said that a number of external agencies would be represented on a judging panel.
Mary McGowne, creator of the Scottish Style Awards, was reported as saying: "Scotland has an internationally-renowned reputation for throwing the ultimate Hogmanay bash. It is vital that the chosen company has the credentials to execute this successfully."
The full article contains 225 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
