The Scottish Government has said it welcomes proposals to organise formal Hogmanay celebrations in Dundee.
Support for an annual celebration has been rapidly building since a petition was set up last week in response to a picture showing city centre streets eerily quiet 20 minutes before the bells this year.
Readers have contacted The Courier to express their support for some form of Hogmanay celebration, with some even suggesting donations could be made throughout the year to help meet the cost of any event.
There has been no officially organised outdoor event in Dundee since 1999.
Scotland’s Hogmanay celebrations are famous the world over and visitors to Edinburgh’s celebrations this year came from over 80 countries, with more than half coming from outside Scotland.
Various groups have come forward in support, including VisitScotland, who said funding is available to help pay for celebrations.
And the Scottish Government has also said it supports the plans.
A spokesperson said: “We welcome Dundee’s desire to celebrate Hogmanay, particularly in light of their bid to be a European Capital of Culture, and we look forward to working with them to share Scotland’s expertise in providing the perfect stage for celebrations.”
The V&A will open in early 2018 and Paul Jennings, executive director of Dundee Heritage Trust, said any potential new year celebrations could piggy-back on the excitement surrounding the opening of the V&A.
He said: “Assuming everything goes to plan with the opening of the V&A, the city will become a very potent attraction for visitors in 2018.
“Several hundred thousand will be coming to Dundee and with the museum having been open for several months, it could be a great time to take advantage of these visitors.
“Anything that can be done to celebrate the city, we would welcome.”
EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s events directorate, manages an event funding programme to support events celebrating Scotland’s three national days: St Andrew’s Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night.
The Event Fund for the 2017/18 calendar year will open for applications in April.
A spokeswoman for the One Cities, Many Discoveries campaign said: “One City, Many Discoveries is committed to celebrating the festive season with the annual Christmas Lights switch-on event, a hugely successful event which has grown in size and impact since it began five years ago, now bringing in 35,000 visitors to the city centre as estimated in November 2016.
“As we move closer to V&A Dundee opening, we will continue to develop and collaborate on opportunities that frame the city in a positive light and grow visitor numbers.
“At our Christmas event we concentrate on showcasing local talent and businesses and working with local groups and traders to ensure the event offers opportunities for them, and our approach has been well received by both locals and visitors alike, with over 25% of those attending coming from outside the city.
“Dundee City Council has now established a grant scheme to help groups who wish to organise community events to celebrate Hogmanay, which is a great opportunity for locals to develop the kind of events they would like to attend at Hogmanay.”
