About Edinburgh Winter Festival
Opening on Friday 25 November, Edinburgh’s Christmas is set to have something for everyone with the addition of a series of fun, free festive events as part of the programme including a Nativity Carol Concert on Sunday 27 November and the Santa Fun Run on Sunday 4 December.
Nestled in the heart of Edinburgh’s historic city centre, with stunning views of the city’s iconic skyline, Edinburgh Castle and Scott Monument, East Princes Street Gardens hosts the traditional Christmas Market with around 70 stalls, featuring some of the best local traders alongside their UK and European peers selling everything from bespoke products and gifts to tasty treats.
The top of East Princes Street Gardens will be home to the Forth 1 Big Wheel and a selection of thrill rides. At West Princes Street Gardens, visitors will find Santa Land, offering the excitement of a Christmas tree maze and a family-friendly funfair as well as an all-new Santa Stories in the Piccolo where children can enjoy a special Christmas tale, told by Santa himself along with some special guest helpers. All children will receive a gift and sittings will also include BSL, relaxed and audio described sessions.
George Street will be home to the spectacular Edinburgh’s Christmas Ice Rink; Lidl on Ice, in partnership with Essential Edinburgh, which this year for the first time will be under cover allowing visitors to enjoy the fun in any weather surrounded by the elegant 18th century architecture. Skaters and friends can warm up with a mulled wine or hot chocolate from the winter warming area, enjoy a ride on a vintage funfair ride before enjoying the rest of what George Street has to offer.
Back in St Andrew Square, in partnership with Essential Edinburgh, is Social Bite’s Festival of Kindness, Tree and Gift Donation point. Dedicated to spreading festive goodwill to those who need it most, people from all walks of life will be encouraged to help create a moment of kindness. Donations can also be made to help provide thousands of Christmas dinners and food packs, to help with the distribution of gifts to homeless and vulnerable families, children and individuals or for shelter to those without a roof over their heads this winter.
Open seven days per week from 10am- until late, Edinburgh’s Christmas Markets, Santa Land, Forth 1 Big Wheel, and other festive rides open on the afternoon of Friday 25 November. The George Street Ice Rink opens on Saturday 26 November.
Edinburgh Winter Festival is the best place to find Edinburgh’s Christmas and Hogmanay celebrations this winter. The site is the only place to buy tickets to the various official Edinburgh’s Christmas events and attractions, and also provides tickets to Edinburgh’s Hogmanay official events and wider celebrations around the city. Find festive events across Edinburgh including festive ceilidhs, musical concerts, workshops, club nights and more!
Nestled in the heart of Edinburgh’s historic city centre, with stunning views of the city’s iconic skyline, Edinburgh Castle and Scott Monument, East Princes Street Gardens hosts the traditional Christmas Market with around 70 stalls, featuring some of the best local traders alongside their UK and European peers selling everything from bespoke products and gifts to tasty treats.
The top of East Princes Street Gardens will be home to the Forth 1 Big Wheel and a selection of thrill rides. At West Princes Street Gardens, visitors will find Santa Land, offering the excitement of a Christmas tree maze and a family-friendly funfair as well as an all-new Santa Stories in the Piccolo where children can enjoy a special Christmas tale, told by Santa himself along with some special guest helpers. All children will receive a gift and sittings will also include BSL, relaxed and audio described sessions.
George Street will be home to the spectacular Edinburgh’s Christmas Ice Rink; Lidl on Ice, in partnership with Essential Edinburgh, which this year for the first time will be under cover allowing visitors to enjoy the fun in any weather surrounded by the elegant 18th century architecture. Skaters and friends can warm up with a mulled wine or hot chocolate from the winter warming area, enjoy a ride on a vintage funfair ride before enjoying the rest of what George Street has to offer.
Back in St Andrew Square, in partnership with Essential Edinburgh, is Social Bite’s Festival of Kindness, Tree and Gift Donation point. Dedicated to spreading festive goodwill to those who need it most, people from all walks of life will be encouraged to help create a moment of kindness. Donations can also be made to help provide thousands of Christmas dinners and food packs, to help with the distribution of gifts to homeless and vulnerable families, children and individuals or for shelter to those without a roof over their heads this winter.
Open seven days per week from 10am- until late, Edinburgh’s Christmas Markets, Santa Land, Forth 1 Big Wheel, and other festive rides open on the afternoon of Friday 25 November. The George Street Ice Rink opens on Saturday 26 November.
Edinburgh Winter Festival is the best place to find Edinburgh’s Christmas and Hogmanay celebrations this winter. The site is the only place to buy tickets to the various official Edinburgh’s Christmas events and attractions, and also provides tickets to Edinburgh’s Hogmanay official events and wider celebrations around the city. Find festive events across Edinburgh including festive ceilidhs, musical concerts, workshops, club nights and more!
About the Producers
Unique Events and Assembly Festival have joined forces to create UniqueAssembly Ltd to produce the world-renowned Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations and more recently secured by The City of Edinburgh Council to deliver Edinburgh’s Christmas celebrations.
Edinburgh’s Christmas and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2022-23 are the start of the rebuild of Scotland’s premier Winter Festival - returning Edinburgh to its rightful place as the Home of Hogmanay.
Edinburgh’s Christmas and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay are created and designed by collaborators UniqueAssembly, delivered by their highly experienced team, on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council.
Assembly Festival
Established in 1981, Assembly is the longest-running and most prestigious of the multi-space venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In the four decades since its first festival where it played host to quartet of shows, Assembly now presents a programme of more than 200 productions to an audience of over half a million. 2021 and 2022 saw the company invited to be part of Coventry’s UK City of Culture celebrations, bringing the much-loved Assembly Festival Garden to their city centre for a residency that welcomed audiences from every postcode in the region.
Over the years, an extensive list of now household names started their journey to stardom on an Assembly stage, including Eddie Izzard, Jo Brand, Bill Bailey and Sandi Toksvig, to name a few.
Unique Events
Unique Events is Scotland’s leading independent event and festival creators, specialising in high-profile national celebrations, large-scale indoor & outdoor events and multi-venue cultural festivals. A cornerstone and innovator of Scotland’s event sector, Unique Events has produced many of the country’s largest national celebrations and high-profile public events, as well as one-off spectaculars and hand-picked charity campaigns
Unique Events are the originators of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festival almost 30 years ago and delivered the first Edinburgh’s (then Capital) Christmas for the city in 2000.