Revelers at the UK’s largest New Year’s Eve party in Edinburgh’s Hogmanay were given a free iPhone (News - Alert) app that allowed them to access an e-card with the backdrop of celebration which they can use for sending New Year’s wishes to friends and family.

The event and the app marked the first countdown event of the London 2012 Festival which runs from June 21^st to September 9^th, 2012.

Those who downloaded the app pointed their phone at Edinburgh Castle when the clock struck midnight on December 31^st and soon they saw an e-card pop up on the phone with pictures of the fireworks.

“We’re excited to be working with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay for our first countdown event which, in this digital age, brings together new technologies and art for the New Year celebrations in Edinburgh,” said Ruth Mackenzie, director of the Cultural Olympiad & London 2012 Festival.

As many as 80,000 revelers had gathered at the party to welcome the New Year.

The virtual greeting, according to organizers, could be used on social media for sending messages.

The project, called @thistimeofyear, is the first countdown event for the 12-week London 2012 Festival which encompasses cultural events around the UK in the Olympic year.

The London 2012 Festival will be a 12-week nationwide celebration from 21 June and running until 9 September 2012 bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK.

On Midsummer Night, the first day of the London 2012 Festival, Gustavo Dudamel and The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela will perform an outdoor concert in the heart of a Scottish community where their “El Sistema (News - Alert)” philosophy has taken root.

Edinburgh’s Festivals will play a major role in celebrating London 2012, with the world’s elite and emerging cultural talent gathering in Edinburgh while their sporting equivalents are in London. Creative Scotland and Edinburgh’s Festivals are a major partner of the London 2012 Festival.