Just the ticket for a cracking good night at the fireworks

CLUTCHING their tickets after getting up early yesterday to join the queue for Sunday's Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert are Blue Martin, eight, and her father, Dennis.

The Martins were among hundreds in the queue snaking along Johnston Terrace waiting for the Hub, near Edinburgh Castle, to open and sell the last allocated tickets.

While 10,000 tickets have been sold for the finale to the Festival, viewing spaces will be at a premium with Princes Street and surrounding roads closed off as a result of the tramworks. The decision to shut down parts of the city centre was taken after police and council chiefs said they could not guarantee the safety of non-paying spectators.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Matthew Halls, will perform choreographed pieces from Handel, while four tonnes of explosives, including the famous waterfall cascade, are fired from the castle.