Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party and traditional fireworks have been cancelled amid severe weather warnings.

The city was due to host one of the UK’s biggest celebrations with 50,000 revellers from around the world.

Rock band Texas was booked as the main act in the Princes Gardens but attendees will now have to settle for a small number of indoor events and usher in the new year at the city’s hospitality venues.

Edinburgh’s traditional torchlight procession, scheduled to be held on Sunday, had already fallen victim to the high winds of up to 70mph sweeping across the country.

UniqueAssembly, the event organiser, cancelled after yellow weather warnings issued by the Met Office for most of Scotland on both Monday and Tuesday, with an amber warning in place for northern areas.

The organiser stressed that the poor weather made it unsafe for outdoor event preparations. Indoor activities still set to take place include a sell-out gig by Idlewild and a service at St Giles’ Cathedral.

Cancellation of the street party will inevitably prove costly to the organisers and to others who may suffer a loss of hotel and travel bookings. Other businesses, includes bars, restaurants and small entertainment halls may expect to pick up additional trade.

An official spokesperson for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay stated: “Due to ongoing high winds and inclement weather in Edinburgh city centre, we regret to announce that outdoor events scheduled for Monday and December 31 are unable to go ahead on the grounds of public safety.

“The cancellation includes tonight’s Night Afore Disco Party in West Princes Street Gardens and, on December 31, the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party, Concert in the Gardens, and the midnight fireworks from Edinburgh Castle.

“We know that this will be hugely disappointing to all hoping to celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh and that people travel from around the world to be here. Customer service from point of purchase will be in touch with ticket-holders directly with further instructions regarding refunds in due course.”

Texas issued an update via Instagram stating: “Unfortunately, tomorrow’s gig has been cancelled due to the weather. We hope everyone stays safe and has a great New Year when it comes.”

City council leader Jane Meagher said: “I know that, like me, many people will be very disappointed. This decision was not taken lightly, however, with the ongoing adverse weather condition, public safety must be our number one priority.

“There are lots of exciting indoor events taking place. For those coming along to them – I know you’re in for a treat and will have a great time. Please make sure you stay up-to-date with the weather and transport on social media.”

First Minister John Swinney was set to attend a meeting of the resilience committee, chaired by Justice Secretary Angela Constance. Ms Constance said: “There is expected to be a significant amount of rainfall in the next 24 hours after a period of wet weather, raising the risks of travel disruption and flooding.”

There have been disruptions to ferries and trains, with snow, rain, and wind warnings in place that are likely to affect New Year’s Eve travel. The Met Office has issued multiple weather warnings across the UK from Monday to Wednesday, with Scotland facing “fairly persistent rain” and snow.

Forecasts predict 50-70mm of rainfall generally, with up to 100-140mm in some areas and as much as 20cm of snow in others, under a warning effective until midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Met Office spokesperson Oli Claydon said: “There will be pretty severe weather from that rain over the next 48 hours.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued three severe Flood Warnings for the Aviemore and Carrbridge areas with very high river levels forecast for the early hours of Tuesday morning along the River Spey, with a danger to life.

Further warnings are in place over large parts of Scotland with rivers expected to continue to rise, especially across Speyside, the Great Glen and Tayside where impacts are most likely.

Duty flood manager, Cordelia Menmuir, said: “It is possible we could see similar levels to those experienced in early October 2023, when places like Aviemore and Perth were severely affected.”

Cancellations of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay are not unusual. The 2003 event was called off just before Erasure were due to perform after strong winds rendered the stage unsafe.

It was called off again in 2007 in the face of storm conditions, when the Pet Shop Boys and Paolo Nutini were the headline acts.