Hogmanay party 'could be free'

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Proposals to scrap the barriers and tickets for Edinburgh's Hogmanay street party to make it a free event are being mooted by councillors.

Steve Cardownie, Edinburgh City Council's festival and events champion, argues that security barriers are not used at similar events across the UK.

The council was forced to introduce a cordon in 1997 after safety fears over crowds of more than 300,000 people.

A council official said public safety was of paramount concern in any plans.

An Edinburgh City Council official said: "There is talk about it. However, it has only been mooted. There is an awful lot of discussion before we can look at doing this formally."

Mr Cardownie said: "We had the problem all these years ago where there were too many people on Princes Street and there was the potential for a very serious accident in terms of push points, where people came into contact with each other walking in different directions and there was a huge squeeze.

"That was why we introduced wristbands and security gates, and it was at cost to the council.

"Do we still need to have the security cordon? That would save a fortune, because the stewards that come are from various different parts of the UK.

"We really have to look at whether the barriers and ticketing are necessary, given that there are a lot of similar celebrations around the UK."

The ticket fee was doubled for 2007 to £5 because of rising "public safety" costs and this year's cheapest tickets will cost £10.