Welcome to The Hoog New Year 2009!

The Hoog: Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Hoog?
• When is it?
• What is Hogmanay?
• Why is Hogmanay so special in Scotland?
• The "Hoog" thing again - what is it?
• Big Love Day, but why Scandinavia, I thought you said Scotland?
• Where is the Hoog?
• What time do I show up?
• What time does the entertainment and dancing start?
• What will I do at the Hoog?
• What is a Ceilidh?
• So it's country dancing?
• Will I meet the love of my life and do you guarantee this?
• What do I wear?
• Should I take the car - what about other transport?
• What else happens at the Hoog?
• What happens if my tummy gets empty?
• I have Edinburgh Street Party tickets, can I come to the Hoog as well?
• Can I buy Hoog tickets on the night?
• What do I get for my money?
• Can I book lots of tickets at once?
• Are there any concessions?
• Can children come?
• Should I drink too much alcohol, become anti-social and then hate myself for it in the morning?
• I might lose my ticket - can I get a new one?
• Can I smoke at the Hoog?
• Why should I choose The Hoog over other indoor events?

What is the Hoog?

The Hoog is the name given to the best indoor Hogmanay party in Scotland.

When is it?

Why Hogmanay of course! To be precise it's December 31st 2008.

What is Hogmanay?

Have you been living in a cave? - Hogmanay is Scotland's New Years Eve. New Year is more special in Scotland than any other country in the world.

Why is Hogmanay so special in Scotland?

Go and ask your forefathers. Everyone has Scottish ancestors somewhere. While you're at it, find out what tartan you should wear.

Sorry, the "Hoog" thing again - what is it?

The word Hoog comes from "Hoog min dag" - It means "Big Love Day" in some Scandinavian language or other - it's probably where Hogmanay came from originally.

I love the idea of a Big Love Day, but why Scandinavia, I thought you said Scotland?

It's back to your forefathers again for that one - trust us, this is a relation celebration, and we're all related!

Where is the Hoog?

Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms at 54 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LR. They are 55 degrees 57'11.40"N and 3 degrees 11'55.50" W.
Click here for a map to the Assembly Rooms

What time do I show up?

7:30pm for opening doors and 2am for closing doors - we print this on your ticket in case you forget.

What time does the entertainment and dancing start?

9pm and then on 'till the end.

What will I do at the Hoog?

The Hoog is a proper Scottish party including a full on Ceilidh.

A what?

Ceilidh! - So you have been living in a cave! It's pronounced kay-lee. Go here for the full description, but basically you get to hear the very best contemporary and traditional Scottish bands playing the most infectious and exciting reels, jigs and perhaps even the odd fling. What you tend to find is that the music is so uplifting that you often start to get some sort of dancing urge - we make an allowance for this!

So it's country dancing?

Well, nothing to do with Country & Western but yes ceilidh is a form of country dancing - It should be noted though that Ceilidh is considered mainstream "de rigeur" in Scotland rather than twee or parochial. The dances themselves are easy and quick to learn and do. The mood of a ceilidh (even when it isn't Hogmanay) becomes very inclusive and family like. Think "Whisky Galore" rather than "Donnie Darko". It's the Big Love Day - we don't want to sound all hippy and so on - but you just start to love everyone. It's unavoidable.

Will I meet the love of my life?

Yes - (unless you bring them with you in the first place of course).

You guarantee this?

Well, okay maybe not fully guaranteed - but the point is that, because of the ensemble nature of the dancing and sheer fun of it all, this is a social gathering which is traditionally very rich in the real spirit of friendship. You just can't beat it!

What do I wear?

We think you will look great in full Scottish attire - no matter where you come from. If you want to flavour your current party frock, we suggest some tartan additions with perhaps a sprig of heather. You can hire Kilts from www.hector-russell.com and our Hoog girl, Hannah on our website header is wearing a lovely mini-kilt from a collection of really funky Scottish stuff from Ness.

If you come in jeans and trainers... well you're just as welcome, but it would be lovely if you embraced at least some of the Scottish flavour besides, remember the "love of your life" thing above? You should really make the effort!

Please also wrap up warm and bring wet weather stuff for your journey. We have full cloakroom facilities which will be efficiently manned..... with, well.... efficient men.

Should I take the car?

We don't really advise it. Some parts of the city will be hoaching and many of the roads will be closed off. Go here for more travel information.

What else happens at the Hoog?

There will be a DJ or two doing some stuff at different times and at different parts of the venue. There are nice chill out areas too.

What happens if my tummy gets empty?

We're glad you asked. Us "Happy Hoogsters" have worked hard to provide excellent hot food and cold drinks which will available everywhere - and despite the outrageous money we have had to pay the staff to work on Hogmanay, we've done a good job of keeping the price down too. There will be six fully licensed bars (at the Assembly Rooms) with all kinds of stuff.
We don't have the menus completed yet, so email us if you would like a copy sent to you once it becomes available. Don't let this be a hinge factor in whether or not you buy tickets though, the Hoog will sell out before the menus are ready. We can assure you!

I have Edinburgh Street Party tickets, can I come to the Hoog as well?

Good question! The first thing you need to know is that your Hoog ticket does not give you any access whatsoever to the Street Party. The Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party is a separate ticketed event. If you want to go you must buy tickets. The Street Party is 2 minutes walk from the Edinburgh Assembly Rooms. The barriers to the Street Party close at 11pm. It then has no re-admission until after midnight. The reason why we are bothering to tell you this is because people who attended the "New Year Revels" in the past (which was also in the Assembly Rooms in previous years) used to go to both events when the Street Party was free. Now, with the Hoog, you can effectively do the same thing - but you would have to buy tickets to the Street Party and the Hoog separately.

The Hoog does have re-admission so you can more or less come and go as you please. One scenario here is for you to arrive at the Hoog until 10 mins before 11 o'clock and then mosey over to the Street Party to see the fireworks if the weather is good. You can stay for an hour and kiss lots of strange drunk people then come back to the Hoog until 2am.

There are some good reasons why you might not want to do this. First of all, apart from the weather etc, you should know that the street party will have 80,000 people. There are three live stages and a whole bunch of other stuff at the Street Party - but, if you're not early, you will have difficulty getting to a good viewing position. Meanwhile, at the Hoog, there are also three stages and a bunch of great things going on everywhere too - in our opinion you would have a great time, miss the enormous crowds, stay warm and save a few bob if you just stay at the Hoog. You won't really want to leave - and if you've seen one firework, you've seen 'em all! It is just our opinion of course!

One thing you should know about the Street Party is that it is possible that bad weather can cause last minute cancellation. We don't intend to put you off by saying this - but if you do have Hoog tickets as well as Street Party tickets then you really are in a "cake and eat it" situation. You can do a bit of both, and you will have somewhere to go with indoor toilets, cloakroom facilities and a place to sit down too if you feel like it - not to mention the food, drink and dancing of course.

If you are flamboyant enough to do both events on the night (and we have had a few mails on this topic already)- just remember to time the barriers correctly - just to repeat what we said at the beginning, there is no admission into the Street Party past 11pm. This changes once the fireworks have finished past midnight - so get in the Street Party either before 11 or after 12. The Hoog has re-admission all night until 2am.

Can I buy Hoog tickets on the night?

NO! Please take note of this very important note: Ticket sales for the Hoog will sell very quickly. You must decide fast because previous Hogmanays at the Assembly Rooms have always sold out within a few weeks of going on sale and this year is much better than what happened indoors last year. You can therefore expect a greater take up on tickets - decide fast - we're not joking!

We only have 1700 tickets to sell - and the Street party has 80,000 - so you can see the difference! The Hoog is a big party, but compared to the Street Party, it's an exclusive and intimate gathering! Hoog tickets on the night will be as rare as hens teeth - in other words, you won't get any! If you are early and organised, you'll be the ones laughing on the night. Buy tickets here or phone the hotline.

What do I get for my money?

In a nutshell, the cost of the ticket gets you into the best indoor party in Edinburgh. There you can dance and experience excellent entertainment on three stages and on the two floors of the huge Assembly Rooms. Excellent food and drink are obtainable, but are not included in the ticket price.

Is this good value?

Yes. None of the event organisers live in castles or drive nice cars! This is a quality event that understands the needs of a discerning public. Check out our competition on the night - we won't waste your time with attempts to prove stuff to you here - you'll see.

Can I book lots of tickets at once?

Yes, we love party groups - but we're not so keen on ticket touts. This means that ticket purchasing becomes a little bothersome if you need more than six tickets. Basically, if you are in a very big group, we suggest you buy tickets in batches of six using different friends, with different credit cards registered at different addresses. This way we can cut down on re-sellers. Sure, go and buy them on eBay for twice the price (if you can guarantee they are genuine) if you want to - we are just trying to control this little aspect to the industry. Basically six tickets per person, per booking, per card - we're sure you get what we're trying to say here.

Are there any concessions?

No.

Can children come?

Sorry 18s or over. Perhaps we should do a mini-Hoog next year?

Should I drink too much alcohol, become anti-social and then hate myself for it in the morning?

No. You are to drink alcohol using the responsibility and control you have learned over the years. You have to make it through 2008 as a new and better person. Make January the 1st a good way to start.

I might lose my ticket - can I get a new one?

Bad news here I'm afraid. As this is not a seated event you must keep hold of the ticket you bought - we cannot transfer your booking onto another ticket. All specific ticketing information is managed by Edinburgh Hogmanay, please read the terms and conditions which are written on the back of the ticket. If you lose your ticket, there is nothing for it but to buy a new one.

Can I smoke at the Hoog?

No. This is an indoor event. However, we will be allowing street access if you would like to smoke outside. You might want to consider giving up for New Year.

Why should I choose The Hoog over other indoor events?

We think you will be very happy with our choice of venue at the Assembly Rooms. It's an atmospheric Georgian style building in the heart of the city centre, perfect for celebrating Hogmanay in Scotland.

The Queens Hall, while further out of the city, is still only 10 minutes walk from the street party barriers. Both venues are within easy reach of the major city centre hotels, so you won't end up having to pre-book your taxi and pay £40. Because you can simply walk instead.

With great food, great bands and also being the only indoor event which is part of the Edinburgh Winter Festival - we think your choice is fairly obvious.

I really can't think of any more questions

Good! But if you do - phone the box office on +44(0)8700 40 40 10 or Rona our "Princess of Hoog Production" on +44(0)131 624 4447 and check this site for updates in the lead up to the big day.