Torchlight procession starts Hogmanay celebrations

People take part in a torchlight procession through Edinburgh as part of the pre Hogmanay celebrations. — Image caption,
Around 7000 torchbearers and 30,000 onlookers gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city, on Sunday night to start the annual Hogmanay celebrations. Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is the name given to Scotland's annual New Year celebrations.

People walk down North Bridge carrying lit torches during the annual torchlight procession to mark the start of Hogmanay

The torch parade is the first event of three days of celebrations in Edinburgh to mark the New Year. The City Council is expecting up to 80,000 people for the main highlight - a massive New Year's Eve street party on Monday.

Up Helly Aa vikings from the Shetland Islands, hold lit torches during the annual torchlight procession to mark the start of Hogmanay.

Some of the torchbearers dressed in Viking costumes. Norwegian Vikings or 'Norse' sailed to Scotland in the eighth century, where they settled in the north and on the Orkney and Shetland islands. For 500 years, from about AD 900, Vikings ruled the north of Scotland.

Up Helly Aa Viking Erik Burgess from the Shetland Islands, shouts while holding a lit torch during the annual torchlight procession to mark the start of Hogmanay (New Year) celebrations in Edinburgh

Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations attract visitors from all over the world. Last year, 63% of the 130,000 people that attended Edinburgh's Hogmanay events were from outside of Scotland.

Steve Cardownie, Edinburgh City Council's festivals and events boss, said the torch parade had become a really popular start to the city's New Year celebrations. "We actually moved it back a day because people were saying they wanted to participate but they arrived in Edinburgh too late to take part," he said.

A finale of fireworks after a torchlight procession through Edinburgh as part of the pre Hogmanay celebrations.

On New Year's Eve, hourly firework displays will mark the count down to 2013 in Edinburgh. From 09:00pm fireworks will be let off on the hour every hour until midnight, when there will be a massive display. There will also be big New Year celebrations in towns and cities across the UK - including the annual fireworks along the Thames in central London.