Councillors have today (30 April) unanimously agreed to award the contract for the delivery of Edinburgh鈥檚 world-famous winter festivals for the next three years.
Subject to a ten-day standstill period, the contract will be awarded to a consortium led by Edinburgh-based event producers, Unique Assembly.
The contract covers the production and delivery of Edinburgh’s Christmas for 2024/25 and then for Edinburgh’s Christmas and Hogmanay festivals until 2026/27, with the opportunity for two optional twelve-month extensions. The delivery of Edinburgh's Hogmanay for 2024/25 was already agreed in June 2022 and will also be undertaken by Unique Assembly.
The procurement process followed a lessons learned exercise, which led to a renewed focus on bid quality and enhancements to the sustainability, environmental, and community impact requirements of bids.
The full report is
Council Leader Cammy Day said:
I’d like to congratulate Unique Assembly following today’s unanimous decision by councillors. They bring decades of experience in delivering major events, including our own Winter Festivals, and I’m confident that they’ll provide a fantastic service to the city over the next three years.
The festivals occupy a central element in the cultural calendar of our city and delivering them well for our residents and visitors remains a key priority for us – not least given the huge enjoyment they bring each year. They also deliver substantial economic benefit for the city and for Scotland more widely, supporting jobs and businesses in many sectors most notably tourism, hospitality, and leisure.