The Red Hot Highland Fling, once hailed as Scotland’s biggest free Hogmanay concert, has officially been cancelled by the Inverness Events and Festivals Working Group.
The decision, confirmed this week, means the city will no longer host a publicly funded New Year’s Eve event after 15 years of music, fireworks, and winter celebrations at the Northern Meeting Park.
Provost of Inverness and Area, Councillor Glynis Sinclair, called it “the end of an era.”
“We have hosted some amazing bands over the years with fantastic crowds,” she said.
“I would like to thank everyone who has attended an Inverness Hogmanay event since it was first hosted in 2008.”
The event drew crowds of up to 10,000 before the introduction of ticketing in 2023 halved attendance.
Originally free and open to all, the Red Hot Highland Fling allowed revellers to flow freely between the city centre and the event site.
But growing costs and a shrinking budget forced the introduction of ticketing, which limited numbers and raised concerns about sustainability.
Other setbacks included weather-related cancellations in 2009 and 2020, and the 2024 cancellation due to redevelopment at the Northern Meeting Park.
In recent months, the Events and Festivals Working Group sought to develop a new city centre Hogmanay celebration through collaboration with local hospitality businesses and event organisers.
“Unfortunately, no proposals were forthcoming,” said Sinclair, “and therefore there is no longer the justification to invest funds from the Inverness Common Good Fund into a Hogmanay event.”
Funding challenges have increasingly influenced the future of Inverness’s winter events calendar.
The introduction of charges last year was seen as a last-ditch effort to sustain the programme without overburdening the Common Good Fund, which supports various community initiatives.
While the curtain falls on the city’s public Hogmanay tradition, the Working Group says it remains committed to boosting the hospitality and business sector across the quieter months from October to March.
“We will continue to support the Highland hospitality and business sector by creating new and exciting crowd-pleasing events,” Sinclair said.
