In 1996, more than 300,000 revellers crammed into Princes Street to celebrate Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. It was a number that would never be allowed again.
The Guinness Book of Records recognised the event as the most attended New Year party ever at the time.
At this point, the event was not ticketed, and party goers could join in the festivities whenever they liked.
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This huge number of visitors, combined with a lack of police presence, and under-prepared barriers, had created a perfect storm.
Shortly before the bells, barriers on The Mound were pushed to their limit with a surge of people.This had a domino effect, and rippled through the crowds of people. The barriers fell, some were crushed, some were impaled, and hundreds were injured.
Between December 31 and January 2, almost eight-hundred people were admitted to the Royal Infirmary with injuries related to the street party.
Almost two hundred of these patients required medical attention, 61 needed surgery, and 36 required emergency resuscitation.
Forty-one people had suffered penetrative injuries sustained from spikes on metal railings.
Forty-three patients were reported to have glass wounds, and 34 presented with crushing or trampling injuries.
A report from the Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine at the Royal Infirmary published later in the year decided that it was ‘doubtful’ that the Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh could be considered safe.
While the report states that no deaths could be directly attributed to the event, the pressure on the hospital due to the injuries pushed the Infirmary past its capabilities.
Additionally, the Infirmary reported intoxicated patients in the hospital caused further issues.
The hospital struggled to get patients undressed for x-rays and treat patients, and even required a permanent police presence over the first few days of January to protect staff from violent outbreaks.
The inherent safety of the Hogmanay celebration was called into question, and the press began to report a proposed increase to over 500,000 people attending the 1997 event.
After social pressure, organisers responded by creating a smaller gated area for the 1997 street party, with much smaller numbers at around 180,000.
At the time, the leader of the City of Edinburgh Council Keith Geddes was asked how close the 1996 street party came to disaster.
He responded: “Close enough for the council and other partner organisations to look at it and introduce improved safety arrangements.
“The status quo was not an option.
“It is now the world’s leading New Year festival but clearly it is so popular that it has become a victim of its own success.”
Organisers and prominent Edinburgh figures knew something had to change if the street party was going to continue.
An additional £270,000 was added to the safety budget for the street party, which then accounted for two thirds of the event's £1 million budget.
Steward and police officers on duty were doubled to 1200.
Entrance to the event would now require a wrist band, and the extra stewards meant that those who were overly intoxicated would not be allowed entry.
These extra measures, along with the reduced numbers and slightly altered layout, have created a much safer event.
Since the changes, Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations have continued safely and grown massively in popularity.
The 2003 event was cancelled at the last minute due to high winds, which happened again in 2006 with high winds and heavy rain.
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