What's on in Edinburgh

Edinburgh International Festival Closing Fireworks Concert

Sep 2010 (annual)

Cost: £10-£25; ballot for tickets; online allocation released 27 Jul at 11am;
Final allocation released 30 Aug at 10am (personal callers to The Hub only)

Hours: 9pm

Europe's largest annual firework display with live music, the Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert is the Edinburgh International Festival's long-standing final fling. "Ooh" and "aah" at the spectacle accompanying the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus in Princes Street Gardens.

In 2009, aptly, all the music is by Handel, who died 250 years ago this year. Matthew Hills conducts Zadok the Priest, excerpts from Music for the Royal Fireworks, the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah and, from Solomon, The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.

The musicians play on the Ross Theatre Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens, where - if you're lucky in the ballot - you can get a seat. Many buy standing tickets for the gardens (maximum six per applicant), but you can also have a great view of the pyrotechnics from across the city, like Carlton Hill or even the western end of Waverley Station platforms. Families are welcome at Arboretum Place, Inverleith Park, where there's a big screen relay of the concert and a spectacular view of the fireworks against the city skyline.

Princes Street Gardens