EVERYONE'S A WINNER, MAYBE ...

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 11/05/2012 - 13:15

Hearts will play Hibs in the Final of the Scottish FA Cup on 19 May.

In the event of an Edinburgh win, the victorious side will perish with cold in an open-topped bus from 2pm the next day.

This will cause traffic chaos, pedestrian inconvenience and partisan ill-feeling on 20 May in the following places.

If Heart of Midlothian win, the route will go from the Council Chambers to Tynecastle Stadium via Johnstone Terrace, Morrison Street, Dalry Road and Gorgie Road.

If Hibernian Football Club win, the route will start at the Council Chambers and extend to Easter Road Stadium via North Bridge, Leith Street, London Road and Easter Road.

Sue Bruce, the City of Edinburgh's Chief Executive, somewhat optimistically suggests that 'Regardless of who takes the Cup home, it will be a fantastic day of celebration and Iā€™m sure there will be a great atmosphere throughout the city'.

She then comes back down to earth with a barely disguised bump: 'We are asking people to plan ahead and to behave responsibly both on match day and during the celebrations that follow. This will help to ensure that the weekend passes smoothly and safely so that it can be enjoyed by all'.

Tickets to the stadium-based celebrations will be made available free of charge at the turnstiles by the winning club on a first-come basis from 1pm. Anyone wishing to attend must be in the stadium before the turnstiles close at 2.15pm, ahead of the arrival of the parade bus.

Route, potential road closures and parking restrictions for the Broughton end of town ā€“ some from 6pm on 19 May to 5pm on 20 May ā€“ are shown in the pdfs below.