Edinburgh's Hogmanay is the greatest celebration of New Year in the world, a four-day festival for an international audience in Scotland's capital city. Unique Events has created, produced and managed every aspect of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay since its inception in 1993. The Torchlight Procession launches the festival on 29 December. With tens of thousands of people bearing torches for charity and forming a “twinkling river of fire” the procession winds through the city’s main streets to Calton Hill and a spectacular bonfire, son et lumiere and firework finale. On the 30 December, Unique have created different events in various city centre locations over the years. Attracting audiences of 20,000 people, the night’s programme is usually based on international street theatre and dance presented in a firmly Scottish cultural context. In recent years it has been funded by EventScotland; it is always free. The Street Party on 31 December, New Year’s eve, is the flagship event of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. Since 1996 (400,000 people turned up in 1995), Unique have worked with the City of Edinburgh Council to safely manage the event by creating a complex perimeter around the city centre and a ticketing system that limits the capacity to 100,000. Entertainment over several stages includes international artists; Scottish, contemporary and traditional music; DJ sets; giant screens with live broadcast; a laser and light show and a fantastic fireworks display (at times over the seven hills of the city and always for international news coverage) above Edinburgh Castle. Recent artists have included, Groove Armada, Kasabian, Calvin Harris and Scissor Sisters, along with Scottish artists Paolo Nutini, KT Tunstall, Glasvegas, Mylo and The Proclaimers. The continuing success of Edinburgh's Hogmanay is well documented and Unique Events has helped to position the city as one of the world’s most popular winter destinations and a year-round festival city. Edinburgh’s Millennium Hogmanay was voted the best place to be in the world on December 31 1999, by The Times newspaper. Unique has recently been engaged to devise and deliver Edinburgh’s Hogmanay through to Britain’s Olympic Year 2012 and are currently working on this year’s festival 2009-10.