It’s easy to see why Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations are described as the best party in the world.

From the minute you step foot beyond the Street Party gates, the Scottish festival spirit is in the air.

Princes Street is no longer a shopping destination, but a T In The Park style hot-spot as thousands of revellers lined the streets ready to party.

The Street was lit up as never before, stages popped up on Waverley Bridge and Frederick Street and giant screens were scattered in several locations.

These screens later become the clubbing point as you walked through the crowds and noticed large groups gathered around them singing and dancing.

The Keildih on the Mound was in full swing as strangers linked arms and danced their way into the New Year.

A short walk from Princes Street, a completely different vibe existed down in the Concert In The Gardens as revellers gathered with pints in hand to watch the main bands.

Kicking off this year’s main stage Hogmanay celebrations were The 10:04s. A fantastic way to launch the party and they managed to work up the crowd with ease. The band provided the perfect start to the night and in particular when guitarist Steven Bolton takes the lead vocals in their tracks.

Next up was Nina Nesbitt, who sang her heart out, but the crowd were a tough act to please. Ending on a cover of the Proclaimer’s 500 miles, it seems the crowd were not as enthused as the previous act and weren’t quite ready to sing-along.

The atmosphere built up as glasses were raised in the air and as The 1975 took to the stage, they thanked the crowd for joining them for the “final gig of the best year of their life”.

And it’s easy to see why the band has had such a fantastic year. With a range of tracks taken from their debut album, The 1975 showcased both their instrumental talents and strong vocals with absolute ease. Unfortunately the crowd weren’t so enthused and seemed only interested in their chart hits with singer Matty Healy commenting “we’re gonna play Chocolate, calm down”. But they managed to prove once again they are far from a ‘chart-only’ group and to us they were the perfect addition to bring in the New Year.

Headlining the night, the Pet Shop Boys brought a very unique stage production to the gardens mixing newer tracks with their classic hits including ‘Go West’ and ‘West End Girls’. With laser lights, giant horned masks, tracksuits and star jumps, we’re not quite sure how to describe what happened during their set. Older audience members lapped up every second of the madness and the non-enthused members were now clapping and dancing to their heart’s content, but for those unaware of the band’s unique electro style, it was a very strange experience.

Overall, the whole experience was one to remember. From dancing in the streets to a party with a pint in the gardens, Edinburgh truly knows how to party on Hogmanay.

If you’ve never experienced the city on Hogmanay we can assure you, you will never forget it.

• Check out our photo gallery from the night.