I'd seen the original Twitter thread and was horrified. Thanks so much for outlining the context and history of this- I genuinely had no idea that Underbelly had such a stake in the fringe, markets and hogmany.
This Underbelly business is utterly pish. I remember the first city Hogmanay parties a LONG time ago, and, aside from the ticketed "headline acts" in the space in the Gardens below the Castle, everywhere else was free and open to the public. Everywhere. I saw the Silencers on the Mound, beChrist. Time for a mass rebellion, no?
Hello Aye! This is the first video of yours I've seen after following you on tumblr. Your voice is very pleasant to listen to. Capitalism sucks worldwide it seems
I haven't actually heard of this before, even though I've lived in Edinburgh my whole life! It sounds awful and needs to be stopped. Nollaig chridheil !
Pay to win Scottish culture and heritage! Never mind the fact all this should be free or, at least, not at unreasonable prices in an attempt to keep the culture and heritage alive as well as fighting against disinterest & doing its best to be welcoming to Scots and tourists alike! Nah. That's pish.
Hopefully some lessons have been learned about the staging of events over recent weeks but with so much negativity ( many of the current issues would not of been worth mentioning 20 years ago but we now live in a blame culture thanks to social media were many situations are exaggerated or taken out of context to attract your attention ) there is a real danger of losing these large scale 'bucket list' occasions forever and other cities would gain from our loss. www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/people/hoteliers-warn-edinburgh-risk-being-seen-anti-tourist-over-christmas-and-hogmanay-complaints-1351928 Aidan Wilson 2 days ago @Aye For Scotland Thanks for your reply , there are many matters that need attention in relation to visitor numbers and large scale events in Edinburgh. For example AirBnB really has got out of control with around 12,000 properties that could be available for locals , some of the occupiers disturb neighbours as well , the sooner they are regulated the better. I welcome a greater choice of budget airlines and destinations to go to but at the same time the number of tourists as a result visiting the city at peak times is immense , maybe the proposed tourist tax will keep that under control but it is unfair for those on a limited budget. Most of these problems are not unique to Edinburgh anyway , as the 2nd most visited place in the UK and in some surveys the most desirable place to live inevitably demand for housing is going to exceed supply and therefore many locals cannot afford to stay in the city , just like any other popular city , the situation is far worse in places like London. I agree that the police check is completely out of order and residents should not need permission to enter their own home , but in the great scheme of things that is a minor problem affecting a few people. I stopped going to the street party on Princes street when they started charging many years ago , like many council tax payers i resented paying to stand in the city centre when it should be free but i realise too that setting up and running these events is incredibly expensive , what is the alternative , personally i think the setting of the Christmas market is spectacular and seeing the incredibly positive feedback from visitors makes it all worthwhile even if it can get a bit crowded at times !. Slainte ! , have a great New Year !
Aidan Wilson Hi Aidan, I think we should take the agenda of hoteliers into account. They run hotels for one reason - to make money. Considering the fact that the dook in the Forth on New Year’s Day was ticketed, locals have a right to be angry and frustrated. This will continue unless Edinburgh finds a way forward, and that’ll only happen when local residence are listened to and respected.
I feel sorry that so many of my fellow Scots are all doom & gloom coming across as so negative & pessimistic. Not sure why the few who constantly complain about everything are always highlighted when the majority of positive messages get ignored , i guess thats social media these days. As for being over commercialised , surely thats happening everywhere with corporate business taking over instead of local councils for instance who can't afford to do it thanks to cutbacks in their budget. Underbelly are far from perfect , but they passed all the safety checks & the millions who attend the largest festival on the planet , the Fringe , Christmas market & Hogmanay would disagree with this video , they have given Edinburgh a world wide reputation as a fabulous place to visit , unique in so many ways with minimal cost by comparison to local tax payers , this city would be incredibly dull without them , we should be proud to have these world class events on our doorstep instead of being self-centred , moaning & whinging about a little inconvenience think about the joy & fun these festivals provide to millions , a bit of understanding & consideration goes a long way !. All the best for 2020 :-)
Aidan Wilson With all due respect, glossing over the subject and ignoring the discontent of Edinburgh residents will do Edinburgh no good in the long run. I’m glad that Edinburgh and Scotland has the reputation it does for visiting. It certainly deserves it but that is not Underbelly’s doing, nor is it due to council cutbacks. That’s two separate issues you’re conflating. These festivals do come at a cost to local tax payers. Edinburgh has one of the highest AirBnB densities in Western Europe. People aren’t able to find flats to buy or to rent and people are being priced out of the city. The cost of living in Edinburgh has sky-rocketed and Edinburgh taxpayers don’t see much return on the festivals. They do however see local prices adjusted to make money from tourists while wages remain stagnant. Edinburgh is a great place to live, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult for working class young people or families to live here. I’d understand your point about ‘whinging about a little inconvenience’ if it wasn’t preventing residents from entering their own property without a police check. That’s a disgusting invasion of privacy and Underbelly shouldn’t be allowed to it. Have a happy Hogmanay when it comes, hopefully at a nicer place than a street party.
@@AyeForScotlandVideoEssays Thanks for your reply , there are many matters that need attention in relation to visitor numbers and large scale events in Edinburgh. For example AirBnB really has got out of control with around 12,000 properties that could be available for locals , some of the occupiers disturb neighbours as well , the sooner they are regulated the better. I welcome a greater choice of budget airlines and destinations to go to but at the same time the number of tourists as a result visiting the city at peak times is immense , maybe the proposed tourist tax will keep that under control but it is unfair for those on a limited budget. Most of these problems are not unique to Edinburgh anyway , as the 2nd most visited place in the UK and in some surveys the most desirable place to live inevitably demand for housing is going to exceed supply and therefore many locals cannot afford to stay in the city , just like any other popular city , the situation is far worse in places like London. I agree that the police check is completely out of order and residents should not need permission to enter their own home , but in the great scheme of things that is a minor problem affecting a few people. I stopped going to the street party on Princes street when they started charging many years ago , like many council tax payers i resented paying to stand in the city centre when it should be free but i realise too that setting up and running these events is incredibly expensive , what is the alternative , personally i think the setting of the Christmas market is spectacular and seeing the incredibly positive feedback from visitors makes it all worthwhile even if it can get a bit crowded at times !. Slainte ! , have a great New Year !
I'd seen the original Twitter thread and was horrified. Thanks so much for outlining the context and history of this- I genuinely had no idea that Underbelly had such a stake in the fringe, markets and hogmany.
Wow this video is incredibly well-made and the time and effort you put into creating it is evident. Keep being rad, dude!!!
Three years later, this video is still startlingly relevant in a lot of countries. Thanks for sharing.
This Underbelly business is utterly pish. I remember the first city Hogmanay parties a LONG time ago, and, aside from the ticketed "headline acts" in the space in the Gardens below the Castle, everywhere else was free and open to the public. Everywhere. I saw the Silencers on the Mound, beChrist. Time for a mass rebellion, no?
Hello Aye! This is the first video of yours I've seen after following you on tumblr. Your voice is very pleasant to listen to. Capitalism sucks worldwide it seems
J Dornier thanks very much! It certainly seems that way!
I haven't actually heard of this before, even though I've lived in Edinburgh my whole life! It sounds awful and needs to be stopped. Nollaig chridheil
!
Pay to win Scottish culture and heritage! Never mind the fact all this should be free or, at least, not at unreasonable prices in an attempt to keep the culture and heritage alive as well as fighting against disinterest & doing its best to be welcoming to Scots and tourists alike! Nah. That's pish.
Regarding Underbelly, It's almost like the Edinburgh city councillors don't care about their residents, but we all know that can't be true. (sarcasm)
What part of Scotland are you from?
Scottish independence is a great way to move Scotland fullspeed ahead- while facing backwards.
Hopefully some lessons have been learned about the staging of events over recent weeks but with so much negativity ( many of the current issues would not of been worth mentioning 20 years ago but we now live in a blame culture thanks to social media were many situations are exaggerated or taken out of context to attract your attention ) there is a real danger of losing these large scale 'bucket list' occasions forever and other cities would gain from our loss. www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/people/hoteliers-warn-edinburgh-risk-being-seen-anti-tourist-over-christmas-and-hogmanay-complaints-1351928
Aidan Wilson
2 days ago
@Aye For Scotland Thanks for your reply , there are many matters that need attention in relation to visitor numbers and large scale events in Edinburgh. For example AirBnB really has got out of control with around 12,000 properties that could be available for locals , some of the occupiers disturb neighbours as well , the sooner they are regulated the better. I welcome a greater choice of budget airlines and destinations to go to but at the same time the number of tourists as a result visiting the city at peak times is immense , maybe the proposed tourist tax will keep that under control but it is unfair for those on a limited budget. Most of these problems are not unique to Edinburgh anyway , as the 2nd most visited place in the UK and in some surveys the most desirable place to live inevitably demand for housing is going to exceed supply and therefore many locals cannot afford to stay in the city , just like any other popular city , the situation is far worse in places like London. I agree that the police check is completely out of order and residents should not need permission to enter their own home , but in the great scheme of things that is a minor problem affecting a few people. I stopped going to the street party on Princes street when they started charging many years ago , like many council tax payers i resented paying to stand in the city centre when it should be free but i realise too that setting up and running these events is incredibly expensive , what is the alternative , personally i think the setting of the Christmas market is spectacular and seeing the incredibly positive feedback from visitors makes it all worthwhile even if it can get a bit crowded at times !. Slainte ! , have a great New Year !
Aidan Wilson Hi Aidan, I think we should take the agenda of hoteliers into account. They run hotels for one reason - to make money.
Considering the fact that the dook in the Forth on New Year’s Day was ticketed, locals have a right to be angry and frustrated. This will continue unless Edinburgh finds a way forward, and that’ll only happen when local residence are listened to and respected.
I feel sorry that so many of my fellow Scots are all doom & gloom coming across as so negative & pessimistic. Not sure why the few who constantly complain about everything are always highlighted when the majority of positive messages get ignored , i guess thats social media these days. As for being over commercialised , surely thats happening everywhere with corporate business taking over instead of local councils for instance who can't afford to do it thanks to cutbacks in their budget. Underbelly are far from perfect , but they passed all the safety checks & the millions who attend the largest festival on the planet , the Fringe , Christmas market & Hogmanay would disagree with this video , they have given Edinburgh a world wide reputation as a fabulous place to visit , unique in so many ways with minimal cost by comparison to local tax payers , this city would be incredibly dull without them , we should be proud to have these world class events on our doorstep instead of being self-centred , moaning & whinging about a little inconvenience think about the joy & fun these festivals provide to millions , a bit of understanding & consideration goes a long way !. All the best for 2020 :-)
Aidan Wilson With all due respect, glossing over the subject and ignoring the discontent of Edinburgh residents will do Edinburgh no good in the long run.
I’m glad that Edinburgh and Scotland has the reputation it does for visiting. It certainly deserves it but that is not Underbelly’s doing, nor is it due to council cutbacks. That’s two separate issues you’re conflating.
These festivals do come at a cost to local tax payers. Edinburgh has one of the highest AirBnB densities in Western Europe. People aren’t able to find flats to buy or to rent and people are being priced out of the city. The cost of living in Edinburgh has sky-rocketed and Edinburgh taxpayers don’t see much return on the festivals. They do however see local prices adjusted to make money from tourists while wages remain stagnant.
Edinburgh is a great place to live, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult for working class young people or families to live here.
I’d understand your point about ‘whinging about a little inconvenience’ if it wasn’t preventing residents from entering their own property without a police check. That’s a disgusting invasion of privacy and Underbelly shouldn’t be allowed to it.
Have a happy Hogmanay when it comes, hopefully at a nicer place than a street party.
@@AyeForScotlandVideoEssays Thanks for your reply , there are many matters that need attention in relation to visitor numbers and large scale events in Edinburgh. For example AirBnB really has got out of control with around 12,000 properties that could be available for locals , some of the occupiers disturb neighbours as well , the sooner they are regulated the better. I welcome a greater choice of budget airlines and destinations to go to but at the same time the number of tourists as a result visiting the city at peak times is immense , maybe the proposed tourist tax will keep that under control but it is unfair for those on a limited budget. Most of these problems are not unique to Edinburgh anyway , as the 2nd most visited place in the UK and in some surveys the most desirable place to live inevitably demand for housing is going to exceed supply and therefore many locals cannot afford to stay in the city , just like any other popular city , the situation is far worse in places like London. I agree that the police check is completely out of order and residents should not need permission to enter their own home , but in the great scheme of things that is a minor problem affecting a few people. I stopped going to the street party on Princes street when they started charging many years ago , like many council tax payers i resented paying to stand in the city centre when it should be free but i realise too that setting up and running these events is incredibly expensive , what is the alternative , personally i think the setting of the Christmas market is spectacular and seeing the incredibly positive feedback from visitors makes it all worthwhile even if it can get a bit crowded at times !. Slainte ! , have a great New Year !