Edinburgh's Hogmanay to expand to Royal Mile

Edinburgh's Hogmanay street party is to be expanded to the Royal Mile with local indie band Idlewild headlining.

The new High Street stage at Parliament Square will have an all-Scottish line up including The Snuts.

Mark Ronson will be the first DJ to headline the Princes Street Gardens concert.

Organisers have revealed the DJ will also create an exclusive soundtrack to accompany the fireworks.

The Grammy and Golden Globe winner will be joined by a host of artists, musicians, authors, puppeteers and street performers at the world-famous event.

As well as Soft Cell singer Marc Almond, other acts set to appear include Fort William singer-songwriter Keir Gibson, Glasgow post-punk band The Ninth Wave and Edinburgh ska band PorkPie.

Mark Ronson will be the first DJ to headline the Princes Street Gardens concert at Hogmanay

Celtic fusion band Shooglenifty, The Great Calverto, Arielle Free and the Mac Twins will also perform.

The three-day festival will be staged under the banner of a "Be Together" theme.

It will kick off on 30 December with a Torchlight Procession through Edinburgh.

Torchbearers will walk to Holyrood Park where they will gather in formation to create the outline of two people joining hands - which will be captured from the air and beamed across the world.

There will be the annual Ceilidh under the Castle, a silent disco and a Candlelit Concert in St Giles' Cathedral.

Children's event

Children's TV duo Dick and Dom will headline Bairns Afore with a 60-minute musical battle.

It will finish at 18:00 with its own fireworks show, with organisers saying the early end will allow families to take their children home before the late-night revelling gets under way.

Judge Jules will be appearing at the McEwan Hall in an "official after-party" for the festivities, which are being held for the 27th time.

Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam, directors of Edinburgh's Hogmanay, said: "Be bold. Be adventurous. Be here. And be together. For many years Edinburgh's Hogmanay has seen residents and visitors from across the world come together to welcome in New Year in a wonderful and important cultural celebration."

Donald Wilson, culture and communities convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "Edinburgh's Hogmanay truly remains the place to be to ring in the new year and this year's exciting programme is no exception.

"An internationally-acclaimed event, Hogmanay draws crowds from across the world but also remains uniquely ours."