US family devastated after spending £8k to visit Hogmanay – to find it cancelled

An American family was left “devastated” after saving up $10,000 (£8,000) for a dream trip to Edinburgh for the city’s famous Hogmanay festival – only to find after arriving that it had been cancelled.

Amber Newton, 45, her husband Richard had long wanted to take the 4,000 miles trip from Georgia to enjoy the festivities and brought their two sons, aged 13 and 16.

The pair had been saving up for years for the family getaway but had the rotten luck of visiting when a slew of New Year’s events were being cancelled due to inclement weather, with various warnings issued by the Met Office.

Celebrations in the city for Hogmanay, a traditional Scottish NYE event, were among those that had to be largely abandoned.

Announcing the move, a spokesperson for Unique Assembly, a firm runs the festival on behalf of City of Edinburgh Council, said: “We have unfortunately been unable to continue with preparations and necessary set-up for Edinburgh‘s Hogmanay outdoor events due to extreme weather and forecast conditions.

“Therefore, for safety reasons we, along with our event partners, have taken the difficult decision to cancel all outdoor events.

“We know that this will be hugely disappointing to all hoping to celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh and that people travel from around the world to be here at the home of Hogmanay.”

It was gutting news for the family, who had made financial sacrifices to get there.

Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Amber said: “We’re devastated. We’ve spent thousands of dollars. I was full of positivity yesterday [December 30], but today I’m overwhelmed and not very optimistic. It just sucks.

“My husband cried about three times yesterday. He never cries.”

Amber, a librarian, worked as a bartender and at a summer school for two years saving money for the holiday.

Amber’s son turned 16 in 2023, and she and Richard decided to combine their savings to fund the trip instead of buying him a car, as well as skipping Christmas present buying for each other this year.

They also had to close their backyard pool as they scrimped and saved for their Scottish adventure.

“The pool’s liner was broken and it was either go to Europe or have a pool. It all went straight to the trip,” she said.

The family is from a small town in southern Georgia, where Amber says most of her friends and family don’t travel.

Amber and Richard travelled to Paris for New Year’s a few years ago, which they said had been their favourite holiday. Amber told the oulet that most of their friends and family in their small town don’t travel and they had hoped to make a tradition of taking a special New Year’s trip as family every five years.

“It’s huge that we are here and want to make it a tradition that we get out of our little town,” she said.

Her mother has never left the state but is delighted that they have been able to explore the world, and bought them tickets to the famous Torchlight Procession.

It wasn’t until the family were queueing for the event that they heard it had been cancelled.

Richard, who has Scottish hertiage, had bought his own torch and was excited to take part in the striking spectacle.

“This is what my husband was dreaming of,” Amber said. “He wanted to go to the Torchlight event and feel like a real Scotsman. We want the real Scottish experience.”

Despite the disappointment, the family is making the best of their time in the Scottish capital and keeping an eye out for traditional Scottish events to enjoy with their boys.