SCOTLAND’S capital city is expected to gain a multi-million pound boost from this year’s Hogmanay celebrations, tipped to be the biggest yet.

The prediction follows news that the economic impact of last year’s event on Edinburgh was £32.9 million, an increase of 40.5% since 2010. Almost 170,000 people attended the celebratory events and 2818 people were employed for the festivities.

In Scotland as a whole, the economic impact was £39.8m, which is an increase of 40.5% from £27.9m in 2010, when the figures were last recorded.

Edinburgh’s place in world media coverage of the New Year rose from 17th to 7th and a total of 2017 online articles reached more than 10 billion readers across the globe.

TV coverage pulled in 89m viewers with radio pieces reaching 141m listeners.

In addition, to mark the start of the Year of Young People, 2633 young people took part in Scotword workshops across the country. Of those who attended the events, 85% rated them “good” or “very good”.

Tonight tens of thousands of people will descend on Edinburgh to celebrate New Year, attending one of the biggest street parties in the world, along with a number of other events such as the torchlight procession, and Ceilidh Under the Castle.

The Hogmanay celebrations are due to run for a total of three days – welcoming more than 170,000 people from the UK and around the world to the city and surrounding areas.

The importance of the event in the shadow of Brexit has been highlighted by Edinburgh MSP Ash Denham.

“Over the last 25 years, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay has gone from strength to strength, welcoming millions of visitors from all over the world and showing off all that our city has to offer,” he said.

“This year’s celebrations recognise the shared values and inclusive view of the world that we possess in Scotland – something which is essential at a time when it is more important than ever to cultivate relationships with our friends in Europe, and further afield.”

Events introduced last year such as Bairns Afore and Message from the Sky have brought a new dimension to the celebrations, according to organisers. The latter event in particular is said to help spread the benefits of this festival around the city.

The centre piece, however, remains the world famous Street Party which features internationally renowned artists, local bands, and a host of other diversions.

“The highlight is an extended firework display which last year was beamed to an audience of over one billion people in 150 countries.

“We know from the Edinburgh People’s Survey that the vast majority of residents think the festivals are a good thing, helping to raise the profile of the city internationally while also delivering programmes that they enjoy,” pointed out city councillor Donald Wilson, convener of the Culture and Communities Committee.

“Edinburgh’s Hogmanay plays a key part in our year-round festival offering and, importantly, it also delivers real economic impact for the city and for Scotland as a whole, benefitting tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors in particular.

“And of course, this results in jobs and opportunities for our young people.

He added: “The City of Edinburgh Council has been involved in Edinburgh’s Hogmanay since 1993 and we are proud to support this important event, both financially and operationally.”