--- title: "Edinburgh's Capital Christmas · Rampant Scotland" description: "\"Give a little magic\" is the slogan for this year's spectacular winter wonderland festival taking place in and around Princes Street Gardens, the Royal Mile and" canonical: "https://rampant-scotland.pages.dev/features/bldev_edin_christmas.htm" last-updated: "2026-11-11" date-basis: "git-content-change" --- # Edinburgh's Capital Christmas · Rampant Scotland Festivals and Events # Edinburgh's Capital Christmas [Original page](https://web.archive.org/web/20100913045726/http://www.rampantscotland.com:80/features/bldev_edin_christmas.htm) Restored from the raw archived page capture: original scripts, advertisements and shared site navigation removed. Original wording, photographs and layout order preserved. Edinburgh at Christmas > ***"Give a little magic" is the slogan for this year's spectacular winter wonderland festival taking place in and around Princes Street Gardens, the Royal Mile and the Old Town from 19th November to 25th December, 2001. Here's a description of what is on offer, written by journalist Vivien Devlin. *** > **Most Popular UK City** In the present climate and a global down turn in tourism, with many people uncertain about travelling, the city of Edinburgh is wise to put on an optimistic face, look forward to happier times over the festive season and say "Come to Scotland " for a magical holiday. This year Edinburgh was voted most popular UK city by the readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine and also received the Best City award from the Observer newspaper. This public accolade has given the city a great boost in confidence and now the best approach is to develop this international image as a great place to visit all year round. George Street, Edinburgh With an estimated 20% reduction in visitors from the United States, the city is looking to Scottish residents, the home market, London, Ireland and the rest of Europe to come and enjoy a wide range of entertainment, great shopping and a warm welcome to all the family. With the cheap no-frills airlines offering budget flights from many destinations direct to Edinburgh, it is a great time to travel. **Festive Celebration** Christmas TreeFrom 19th November there will be a traditional German Market in East Princes Street Gardens, with dozens of stalls selling arts and crafts, toys, candles, gifts, as well as national food and beer specialities. The perfect place for some unusual presents and festive table decorations. The celebrations begin in earnest on Thursday 29th November with the lighting of the giant Christmas Tree for 16 years given as a present from the people of Hordaland, Norway - which will stand proudly at the top of the Mound. That evening there will be an Advent Christmas carol concert in St Giles cathedral. **Christmas Parade** Merry-go-Round On Sunday 2nd December the streets will be closed to traffic in order for hundreds of people to enjoy the Grand Fantastical Christmas parade along Princes Street to Festival Square. Street Theatre entertainment will include a fabulous show by the world renowned French company Plasticiens Volants which indicates some kind of flying is involved. Other international performances from Amsterdam and Barcelona will present actors dressed in truly spectacular costumes - giant ants, animals, tall, bird like creatures with extravagant wings and horns and fairies. With the world all waiting for the opening of Harry Potter film just before Christmas, the theme is very much on the supernatural. The finale will be a superb and magical firework display. **Santa's Ice Caves** Santa's Ice CavesA brand new creation in Edinburgh this year will be Santa's Ice Caves, a delightful imaginative experience for young children. The producers of this event are called, ingeniously "Snow Business", a company which has had great experience in creating extraordinary and realistic Hollywood film sets such as Gladiator, The Grinch and 102 Dalmatians. They will be building Santa's Grotto, on top of Princes Shopping Mall, where visitors will be taken on a journey through the ice caves, passing Santa's little helpers, the industrious elves along the way, leading to the frozen lands of the North Pole where Father Christmas will be found on his giant stalactite throne. **Winter Wonderland** *"A spectacle to rival New York's Central Park" * Edinburgh Evening News Skating in Princes Street Gardens For four years now a giant outdoor ice-rink has been created in the middle of Princes Street Gardens, which again this winter will be open from 10am to 10pm, flood-lit for night time skating as well as by beautiful glittering fairy lights hanging from the trees all around. There will be special performances by professional skaters and curling competitions. Nearby there will be a spectacular toboggan run as well as fairgrounds rides for younger children. Ferris Wheel One of the highlights will surely be the return of the Giant Ferris Wheel, which, as last year, will be situated right beside the Scott Monument. Despite criticism that this was an insensitive site, juxtaposing a very contemporary, brash, steel fairground entertainment, right beside a venerable statue, a ride on this Wheel offers the most fabulous views along Princes Street, up to the Castle and overlooking the winter wonderland of the gardens. The Wheel is the tallest in the UK at 33 metres high, the height of seven double decker buses stacked on top of each other. This is not for the faint-hearted or those suffering from vertigo!. But if you are brave enough then this is a great experience. **Pantomime** Pantomime Pantomime of course is a perennial traditional entertainment, particularly preserved and beloved in Scotland, due to our strong culture in variety entertainment. Edinburgh this year offers Beauty and the Beast as well as Peter Pan. Apart from all the outdoor events there are a series of orchestral and carol concerts, theatre and ballet performances including the Nutcracker, The Snowman show for children and the musical Sunset Boulevard by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Christmas as always is all about giving as well as receiving. Give a Little Magic also refers to the local fund raising campaign which will run throughout Capital Christmas. While all the outdoor events are free to all, there will be street collections which will go to a variety of children's charities including the Royal hospital for Sick Children, Save the Children and Moonbeams cancer charity. Other collections will be taken at carol concerts and other theatre events. The main 2001 appeal will be a Comedy Gala night on 12 December, with a host of well known comedians lending their support in a special show. Hogmanay The firework display at Hogmanay has for many years been a world event and is seen as one of the biggest New Year parties in the world. In recent years the city council decided to extend the festival in order to offer more in the way of entertainment for children right through the holiday season. Last year more than 300,000 people visited Edinburgh to enjoy the Christmas Winter Wonderland which brought more than £ 10 million into the city economy. Hotels, restaurants, shops and local businesses all benefited as well as offering a very special festive cheer to visitors and residents alike, illustrating once again that Edinburgh is a "Best City", a truly Festival city, for all ages. For more details on the Edinburgh's Capital Christmas see their [**Web Site**](http://www.edinburghscapitalchristmas.org). --- ## Source From Rampant Scotland, restored from the page as it stood on 13 September 2010. [Original page](https://web.archive.org/web/20100913045726/http://www.rampantscotland.com:80/features/bldev_edin_christmas.htm). Links to pages not yet restored here lead to the original page or elsewhere on the web; 0 of 1 links on this page are restored on this site.