Cancellation? What cancellation?...

Wet Do We Care, We're Up Four It!
Jan 1 2004 Daily Record
Party People Have A Fab '04 Weather No Problem For Revellers
By Marie Sharp

PARTYGOERS from across the globe flocked to Scotland to celebrate
Hogmanay.

And despite horrendous rain and gales, they brought in 2004 with
style.

An estimated 100,000 people packed the streets of Edinburgh for the
capital's annual bash.

Glasgow sold 25,000 tickets for the George Square show headlined by
The Proclaimers, but police estimated more than three times that number
hit the streets for the Bells.

Sadly, the dreadful weather forced the cancellation of Aberdeen's
200,000 party in the streets.

But hundreds of Australians in Scotland marked New Year by Sydney
time 11 hours before the rest of us.

They met up in bars to watch the firework display which lit up Sydney
Harbour Bridge at lunchtime yesterday.

Australian theme bar Walkabout in Glasgow's Renfield Street was packed
with party-daft Aussies.

Pals Matt Alexander, 21, and Matt Snow, 22, of Melbourne, stopped off
in Glasgow before heading to Edinburgh for midnight.

Alexander said: ''It is a bit of a change for us celebrating Hogmanay
here because it is about 38C back home.

''But Edinburgh's Hogmanay is one of the top things to do before you
die and we've been really looking forward to it for ages.''

Snow added: ''We have heard that Scottish people really know how to
party.

''We've been having a great time bringing in the new year twice in
one day.''

But the best parties had a true Scottish flavour. Edinburgh hosted the
biggest singalong in the world with 100,000 people singing Auld Lang
Syne at midnight.

And no one had an excuse for not knowing the words Rabbie Burns'
world famous lyrics were flashed up on a giant screen.

The Concert in the Gardens was a key feature of the festivities, with
thousands dancing into the New Year below Edinburgh Castle.

Erasure topped the bill, with Vince Clark and Andy Bell treating the
crowd to their only UK performance of anthems from their greatest hits
album. Liverpool band The Coral also featured in the line-up.

Tickets for the traditional New Year Revels Hogmanay Ball at the city's
Assembly Rooms, offering a ceilidh with pop, rock and fiddles, sold out
within one hour of going on sale.

The Seven Hills Fireworks which sees fireworks launched from seven
sites across Edinburgh, illuminated the skies at the stroke of midnight,
to the delight of the crowds thronging the streets.

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council said that, in all, half a
million people were expected to have celebrated the new year in the
capital.

She said: ''We're expecting at least 500,000 people to enjoy the
celebrations in Edinburgh, over the four days from Monday through
to the 1st. '' A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders police said
that at least ''a few hundred'' officers were on duty last night,
doubled up with stewards, while The Met Office issued a weather
warning.

A spokesman said yesteray: ''We have issued a few severe weather
warnings for Scotland. There is a 70 per cent chance of snow and
blizzards in the east and a minimum temperature of 1C in Edinburgh
a chilly New Year's Eve.''

Deputy Lord Provost, Steve Cardownie, said: ''Edinburgh is quite
rightly in the spotlight at New Year; every year we really show the
world how to celebrate.''

Gales and heavy rain wiped out Aberdeen's Hogmanay celebrations.

The Granite City shindig was to have been headlined by The Waterboys
who had spent the afternoon doing soundchecks at the Castlegate.

But that was all that was going to be heard of Mike Scott and the
boys as police and other event organisers decided to call a halt.

A Grampian Police spokeswoman said: ''All events within the city have
been cancelled due to gale force winds and heavy rain in the city.

''Snow is also affecting outlying areas and is blocking routes into
the city.''

Police advised revellers to party at home and not to drive if at all
possible.

Further south, road conditions around Dundee were described as
''treacherous'' and there were reports of thunder and lightning.

The Daily Record is published in Glasgow.

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