Dazzling end to the festival

THOUSANDS of awed onlookers flocked to vantage points around the city to enjoy the spectacular fireworks display marking an end to this year's Edinburgh festival season.

Around a quarter of a million people watched as 100,000 fireworks were set off at the Castle yesterday, to the swirling rhythms of eastern European folk music.

Crowds gathered on Princes Street, with 12,000 ticket holders filling Princes Street Gardens, and hundreds of families watching on big screens at Inverleith Park.

It took 15 technicians six days to set out the fireworks along 400 feet of Castle ramparts for the display, which was once again designed by Wilf Scott and Keith Webb of Pyrovision.

People began to gather in Princes Street Gardens two hours before the show, many with picnic hampers or enjoying a glass of wine as they settled down.

Livingston schoolgirl, nine-year-old Morgan Bevis had the honour of pressing the switch to start the 45-minute show.

Romanian-born Nicolae Moldoveanu lifted his baton to conduct the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for the second year in a row at 9pm, and Europe's largest annual pyro-concert went off with a bang.

A total of 12 tonnes of kit was used to set up fireworks on 17 different levels of the Castle.

In Princes Street Gardens, two large screens showed live close up video of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra performing in the Ross Bandstand, as well as being relayed to a family viewing area at Inverleith Park.

Silent fireworks were used to light up the sky during quieter passages of music. They swept across the sky 150 feet over the castle during Brahms' melodic Hungarian Dances, making the building appear to bubble with colour and movement without overpowering the soft string music.

The pace of the music and fireworks quickened with Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, and the evening ended with a traditional flourish.

Festival director, Jonathan Mills said: "The Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert is a spectacular way to celebrate the end of the festival season. I would like to thank the Bank of Scotland for their continued support of this wonderful, popular event."

The crowds were well behaved, with Lothian and Borders Police noting "nothing to report".

Most people left quickly after the celebrations had finished, without any problems.

Peter Stainton, 53, an accountant from Musselburgh was watching the concert from Princes Street Gardens for the first time.

He said: "I have watched the fireworks from various places but this is the first time I've been in the Gardens. It is definitely much better. The music and the fireworks are timed together perfectly."

Katie Robertson, 29, a nurse from Marchmont, said: "I never usually listen to classical music but I loved it. The fireworks were spectacular and there's something really special about seeing the castle all lit up like that. It's quite eerie at times."

Thousands more people around Scotland listened to the concert live on radio, watched a live stream on the web, or tuned in later to watch the show on STV.


Leading everyone a merry dance
Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert *****
Ross Bandstand

By SANDY SCOTT
FROM 1749 and the celebration of the Peace of Aix la Chapelle with the London fireworks display for which Handel wrote incidental music, people have associated pyrotechnics with occasions of national rejoicing.

Last night's celebration of the end of the International Festival opened with six of Brahms' Hungarian dances. No.6 in D was extremely well choreographed pyrotechnically to suit the music. It was followed by a restrained approach in No.17. The customary waterfall went well with the opening, while red smoke caught the mood of the music. This Brahms group concluded with the well-known G minor dance, whirligigs rising and fizzing to mark each succession of semiquaver rushes.

The second part of the programme included six of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances. A great blaze of light accompanied the first chord of Op.46, No.1. No.2 in E minor began in subdued manner with large candles outlining the ramparts. It was a pity the middle section of this dance was taken too slowly. The G minor Furiant was given some real crash-bang treatment, and the grand finale fell to Op.72, No.7.

Despite all the noise around them the Scottish Chamber Orchestra gave a sterling performance under Romanian conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu.