On the streets and squares of downtown Ljubljana, the New Year was welcomed in by more than 40,000 people.

The central venue for Ljubljana’s open-air New Year celebrations was Congress Square, where the multitude of visitors was kept entertained by Soul Fingers, Natalija Verboten and Kingston. The arrival of the New Year was also seen in on Congress Square by Mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Janković, while foggy skies above Ljubljana were lit up on the dot of midnight by the traditional firework display from Ljubljana Castle.

The New Year music programme, which was intended for diverse musical tastes, ran on Mestni and Pogačarjev trg and on Trg francoske revolucije. The Mestni trg venue was aimed at a more middle-aged crowd, who welcomed in the New Year in the company of Martina Šraj, Alenka Godec and Elda Viler. At Pogačarjev trg, the audience was entertained by national party rhythms, while Trg francoske revolucije was for lovers of alternative rock music.

The longest night at work

On New Year’s Eve, Mayor Zoran Janković visited staff in the duty services, who were spending the longest night at work and presented gifts of festive baskets.

He visited:

- medical staff on duty at the traumatology unit at Ljubljana University Medical Centre
- medical staff on duty at the internal first aid clinic at Ljubljana University Medical Centre
- medical staff on duty at Ljubljana Health Centre
- the duty pharmacy
- Regional notification centre
- Ljubljana Fire Brigade
- Day Centre for the homeless
- the Police Service.

Christmas concert outside City Hall

The traditional Christmas concert in front of City Hall, held annually by the Society for the Revitalisation of the Cultural Image of the Old City Centre in partnership with Ljubljana Tourism and the City of Ljubljana, on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2012, provided a unique experience in the heart of festively-decorated Ljubljana. The magical musical overture to Christmas Eve and the New Year holidays saw the most beautiful Christmas songs conjured up by the internationally multi award-winning Big band Nova with the women’s choir The Singgirls.