ORGANISERS have slashed ticket prices for a major new Hogmanay event amid slow sales for the city's world-famous celebrations.

The Hoog Royale, an evening of ceilidh and swing dancing in the Queen's Hall, is billed as "Edinburgh's most sophisticated way to see in the New Year". But tickets have now been reduced from £60 to £45 after many of the 450 remained unsold.

Thousands of passes for the street party are still available, although they have been snapped up by the end of October in previous years. The slow sales have led to fears that last year's cancellation may be putting people off coming to the city.

However, organisers say they are confident all passes and tickets will be sold by December 31st. They expect ticket sales to pick up following news that X-factor winner Leon Jackson is to perform at the event. Around 100,000 tickets are available for the Concert in the Gardens, the Ceilidh in the Gardens, and the street party. The concert featuring Kasabian, Calvin Harris and Idlewild has already sold out.

The Hoog Royale was launched this year, as an indoor alternative to the celebrations. A spokeswoman for the event said: "The sales were slow to start with, but it's starting to pick up this week. I think people could be leaving their plans till later this year."

She said they were still confident of selling all the tickets. People who have already paid £60 for tickets will not receive a refund.

Michael Dawson of the Queen's Hall said: "This event is all about music, the party atmosphere and having a good time. We want to encourage everyone to 'Hoog it up' this year so that it becomes a regular part of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations."

Demand for street party passes is also believed to be well down on previous years. There are still around 2000 basic passes available, as well as party packs priced at £20 and tickets for the Ceilidh in the Gardens. Organisers say the tickets have been slower to sell than last year partly because more are available. There are usually around 50,000 basic passes, which are sold out within four weeks. This year there are 7500 more passes, but they have been on sale for nearly three months.

Marketing manager, John-Paul Murphy, said: "The passes are going quickly and we have already sold more than we did last year.

"Because of demand, we made available an extra 7500 Street Party Passes at £5. While there are still some of these available, when they are sold out, Street Party Passes will only be available as part of the Party Packs for £20."

The Hoog and Hoog Royale tickets [3]