Inverness’s Red Hot Highland Fling Hogmanay party scrapped, Highland Council confirms citing costs
What was once Scotland’s biggest free Hogmanay concert has been axed after Highland Council confirmed the end of the Red Hot Highland Fling due to costs.
The popular event, which was one of the biggest highlights in the region’s Hogmanay celebrations, had been delighting locals and visitors since 2008.
But in a sad announcement today, Highland Council said it could no longer justify the costs incurred by the Inverness Common Good Fund in running the show.
And efforts to get businesses and other groups in the region to chip in fell flat.
“Sadly, we have come to the end of an era of the Red Hot Highland Fling Hogmanay event,” said Provost of Inverness and Area, Cllr Glynis Sinclair.
“It is with regret that we confirm that this major event in the Inverness Events and Festivals programme will no longer feature on the winter festival calendar of events.
“We have hosted some amazing bands over the years with fantastic crowds, and I would like to thank everyone who has attended an Inverness Hogmanay event since it was first hosted in 2008.
“The Events and Festivals Working Group has made every effort to engage in recent months with hospitality businesses in the city centre and other event organisers to explore the opportunity of an Inverness Common Good supported city centre based event which could be delivered through collaboration and partnership.
“Unfortunately, no proposals were forthcoming and therefore there is no longer the justification to invest funds from the Inverness Common Good Fund into a Hogmanay event.”
Since it first commenced in 2008, the Red Hot Highland Fling was open to the public with free entry attracting crowds of around 10,000 strong. In 2009 the event was cancelled due a snow blizzard and was again cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic and more recently in 2024 due to redevelopment works of the Northern Meeting Park.
With rising costs, and a reduction in budget for the Events and Festivals Working Group, entry charges were introduced in 2023 to help sustain the delivery of the Events and Festivals annual programme while reducing the risk to the Inverness Common Good Fund.
Previous free entry arrangements allowed Hogmanay revellers a free flow of access to and from the city centre providing the best possible opportunity for people to attend.
The requirements for the event to be ticketed resulted in attendance being restricted and halved to around 5000 people. The ticketing requirements combined with the risk of cancellation due to extreme winter weather made the continuation of the Red Hot Highland Fling in its traditional format no longer a viable option for the Inverness Common Good Fund to support.
Provost Sinclair added: “While we regret the end of a publicly funded Inverness Hogmanay event, the Events and Festivals Working Group will continue to support the Highland hospitality and business sector, particularly during the shoulder months October - March, by creating new and exciting crowd pleasing events.”