It was the party of the century where thousands of people took to the streets of Dundee to welcome the dawn of the new millennium.
It’s hard to believe the excitement the turning of the year 2000 caused 23 years ago.
As well as hope for what the future would bring there was also anxiety at the prediction of the ‘millennium bug’ which thankfully didn’t bring about a digital apocalypse!
Dundee’s Hogmanay street party in the City Square to usher in 2000 initially generated huge excitement with live music, fireworks and a lone piper on the bill.
Things didn’t quite go off with a bang when only half of the 12,000 ticket holders decided to brave the cold for what should have been the biggest party night ever staged.
However, those who did turn out certainly enjoyed themselves and we’ve opened up our archives to look back at the story of what was the city’s last big Hogmanay shindig.
When Dundee first held a City Square Hogmanay party
Hogmanay in Scotland was once more popular than Christmas.
Kids got presents at Christmas but it was Hogmanay that made the adults’ eyes gleam.
From midnight until well into the first day of the New Year, the air thronged with revelry as first-footers moved through the streets, visiting neighbours, friends and relatives.
Dundee’s first ever City Square Hogmanay party was in 1934.
Dundee that night was dubbed the “City of Paper Hats” by the Evening Telegraph as everyone in attendance donned their own brightly coloured paper crown.
There was a frenzy in the square as midnight approached and the attendees realised all clocks in the vicinity were displaying a different time.
At the end it came down to which could chime the loudest, and when the church bells rang out according to their timings, cheers broke out across the square.
From there most of the crowd dispelled and headed off on their first footing adventure while others slept off the excesses on the steps of the Caird Hall.
By morning, all that was left were streams of paper hats lining the streets.
Party fever continued in the City Square through the decades including the Hogmanay lead-in to the yearlong celebrations to mark Dundee’s Octocentenary in 1991.
Fast-forward to 1999 where street parties were being organised across the UK to bring in the new century and Dundee’s ticketed-event was named Millennium Dawn.
All 12,000 tickets were snapped up three weeks after being made available to the public and were limited to four per household because demand was so high.
“I am delighted at the response we have had,” said Mervyn Rolfe, Dundee City Council’s economic development convener.
“This is going to be a great celebration for the city and for many it will provide them with memories that will last a lifetime.
“I think that people are looking forward to a fantastic event,” he added.
Among the sponsors for the event were the Millennium Commission, which provided a grant of £45,000, the City of Discovery Campaign, The Evening Telegraph and Michelin.
Radio Tay DJ Gary Robinson provided the sounds while the Penny Dainties, The Cutting Edge and Boogalusa performed an eclectic mix of live music.
All the action from the open-air stage was shown on four large screens.
A specially-commissioned sound and light show was also given its first public screening, depicting Dundee’s history and heritage.
It highlighted memorable moments from the city’s past and its present.
At midnight a lone piper heralded the dawning of the new millennium alongside a spectacular fireworks display which lit up the skies across the Tay.
The only downside was that fewer than half of those who had snapped up the 12,000 tickets for the event actually turned up to the City Square celebrations.
So what put them off?
A lack of public transport and city centre pubs charging up to £30 for entry was blamed for some people deciding to stay closer to home to welcome in the new century.
Others instead gathered at Dundee Law to get a better vantage point of the fireworks.
Which they did.
The Law road was lined with cars from early in the evening as people tried to make sure of a good spot on the hill.
It was an event for all ages, with young families, teenagers, and even the elderly braving the climb to see the spectacle.
Many said that the display was the most amazing firework display they had seen since 1987, when fireworks were set off along the Tay to mark the centenary of the Tay Bridge.
Lord Provost Helen Wright joined both the official and the unofficial celebrations, topping off what she described as a memorable night in City Square with a visit to a sheltered housing complex in Fleming Gardens.
So was the Dundee City Square Hogmanay party in fact worth the effort?
She said: “People who wanted to be there in the City Square were there.
“Other people had chosen to attend parties in their own areas – but they have all enjoyed the fireworks.
“5,000 people at the ticketed event was actually a very good turn-out.
“There was a fair mix of people with young families, older people and people in wheelchairs.
“Everybody who wanted to be there enjoyed it and I think there was a good atmosphere in the City Square.
“I know everybody I spoke to was really excited.
“I was really enthusiastic and got caught up in the feeling of a new start.
“There was a real sense of hope for the new century, which was very right for Dundee.”
Later that year the policy and resources committee agreed to spend £118,300 on a city-wide Hogmanay 2000 party although nothing was planned for the City Square.
The series of events were aimed at bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together which would run from 11am to midnight.
These included a Millennium Meltdown and family sessions at the new ice rink, city-wide street theatre, new year events in the Caird Hall, DCA and other city centre venues, a Hogmanay cycle ride and a fireworks spectacular from the Law.
Committee convener Julia Sturrock said that given the problems many people had with transport to and from the city centre in 1999, they felt it would be better to widen it out and let people who couldn’t get to the City Square at midnight enjoy the night and indeed the whole day.
It wasn’t until 2019 that event organisers GMC Ventures announced an Edinburgh-style Hogmanay party would finally return to the City Square after a 20-year absence.
Tickets went on sale generally costing £39.50 with VIP tickets for the bells costing £65 which included a glass of bubbly on arrival and when the clock struck 12.
Several music acts were booked for the weekend event.
These included Squeeze, Eddi Reader and The View frontman Kyle Falconer but the event was cut back to just one night following disappointing ticket sales.
The planned performance on December 30 by Squeeze was cancelled, along with one of the VIP experiences which had been arranged in the Italian Grill in City Square.
The event was eventually scaled back further and moved indoors to Fat Sam’s Live which meant under-18s would now be removed from the event before the bells.
The event went ahead on Hogmanay and hundreds of revellers partied the night away although event organiser Jill Gibson said it was unlikely to return next year.
Of course the pandemic then struck in 2020 and most of us saw in the new year at home in 2020 and again in 2021 with things back to normal for Hogmanay 2022.
Once again though there will be no Hogmanay event in Dundee City Square but perhaps Hogmanay 2023 could be the year it makes its comeback?
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