Hogmanay celebrations under way in Scotland with torchlight procession

New Year's celebrations are officially under way in Edinburgh, where the annual Hogmanay celebrations kicked off with a torchlight procession through the streets of the city.

The massive festival is in its 27th year, with the city expecting crowds of more than 180,000 people over three days.

Edinburgh's torchlight procession sees thousands of people pick up candles and walk through the streets of the city, before gathering in Holyrood Park where walkers are filtered into a pattern on the ground and photographed from above.

The Lord Provost of Edinburgh Frank Ross told Paste BN the event was "tremendous" and said that the city was now known globally for its year round festivals.

As well as the procession, the streets have been filled with performers to get revellers in the party spirit, ahead of a big city centre concert on Tuesday evening.

However, the celebrations were met with confusion by local residents, after the event organisers, Underbelly, said it was only issuing a limited number of access passes to locals for the three-day festival - meaning many plans for house parties had been thrown into doubt.

The move was criticised by Edinburgh City Council leader Adam McVey, who accused Underbelly of failing to "accurately reflect" the need to prioritise residents' rights to access their houses.

Underbelly has now said that additional passes will be available for those with larger households or people that are hosting guests.

A spokesman for the event said the wording was changed in light of misunderstandings.

On Tuesday evening, stars such as Mark Ronson, Idlewild and Marc Almond will perform on the stage to ring in the new decade in the Scottish capital.