A traditional Scottish New Year bash… courtesy of England?

IT IS the iconic event that puts the nation on the global map and celebrates a centuries-old tradition that Scotland gave the world.

The origins of Hogmanay may be lost in the mists of time, and could even have been inherited from the Vikings, but no event is associated more with Scotland than its New Year festivities.

But what would Rabbie Burns, creator of Auld Lang Syne, make of news that the future of Edinburgh's world-renowned Hogmanay festival is on the verge of being entrusted to the English?

The Scotsman has learned a leading company from Newcastle is one of two firms in the running for the lucrative contract to produce the four-day programme of events in the capital.

Event International (EI) is up against Unique Events, the Edinburgh-based firm that has organised the festivities since their inception in 1993.

City council officials are said to be bitterly divided over which company handles the £1.7 million festival, which is worth more than £35 million for the capital's economy.

EI's track record includes organising celebrations of the QE2's visit to Newcastle, the Tall Ships Race programme in Newcastle and Newcastle's New Year celebrations. The company has been involved in a number of events in Beijing – and is masterminding plans to create a temporary suspension bridge made of bamboo across the Tyne this summer.

EI's website describes director Frank Wilson as having 20 years' experience as a creator, curator and producer of large-scale events. He is the current chairman of the Independent Street Arts Network.

EI has an office in Glasgow headed by associate producer Ian Bone, who was previously involved in the running of Glasgow's Celtic Connections festival and the Famous Grouse House venue on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Unique Events, meanwhile, organised the celebrations to mark the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, was the initial producer of the Burns festival in Ayrshire, and was also involved in a number of major events during the Highland Year of Culture last year.

However, it has now lost the contract for the Burns event, was forced to shelve plans to stage the Outsider music festival, near Aviemore, this year due to funding problems, and has also lost the contract for Christmas events in Edinburgh.

Neither company would comment in advance of an announcement expected from the council later this month.

A spokeswoman for the council yesterday said a number of external agencies would be represented on a judging panel.

One senior council source said: "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, imaginative ideas."

Another insider said: "It would be huge embarrassment if this contract went down south or overseas. What would that say about the home-grown nature of the celebrations?"

Mary McGowne, creator of the Scottish Style Awards, said: "Scotland has an internationally renowned reputation for throwing the ultimate Hogmanay bash. It is vital the chosen company has the credentials to execute this successfully."

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