QUESTIONS are to be raised at Holyrood after it emerged that the Scottish Government approved a last-minute injection of public money for T in the Park.
Scotland's biggest music festival, held this year at the Strathallan Estate in Perthshire, was given £150,000 in state aid after promoters approached ministers looking for help.
The funding deal was not made public in the run-up to the three-day event, but has now appeared on the Scottish Government's website.
It is believed that promoters DF Concerts asked the government for financial assistance in May after winning planning permission for the event to move to its new home.
T in the Park was forced to relocate from its long-time home at Balado, in Kinross-shire, due to fears from the Health and Safety Executive over an underground oil pipeline.
DF Concerts warned in April that the event, first staged in 1994, could be scrapped completely if it did not go ahead in 2015.
Liz Smith, Tory MSP for mid-Scotland and Fife, who has called for a full review of this year’s T in the Park before it is allowed to return to Strathallan, has pledged to raise a series of questions about the funding deal in the Scottish Parliament.
She said: “Whilst it is not unusual for festival events in Scotland to receive Scottish Government funding, it is very important that there is absolute clarity and transparency over the recent funding for T in the Park.
“I have written to ministers to ask the specific questions, the most important of which relate to exactly when the Scottish Government was first approached about the provision of additional funding for T in the Park at Strathallan and by whom?
“Given all the issues about this year’s festival it is vital that these answers are provided as quickly as possible. The taxpayer surely deserves to know the details.”
A spokeswoman for the government said: “T in the Park is one of Scotland’s most popular and successful annual cultural events, which last year generated £15.4 million for the Scottish economy, as well as employment opportunities in the staging and delivery of the event.
"Recognising the economic and tourism benefits T in the Park delivers for Scotland, the Scottish Government invested £150,000 to support relocation of the event.”
A spokesperson for T in the Park said: “Many events in Scotland - often with smaller audiences and less economic impact than T in the Park - receive public funding. There is nothing secret at all about the award of £150,000 to the festival - the awards process has been as transparent as it is for any other event or organisation.
“However our application this year is due to exceptional circumstances. T in the Park was forced to move from Balado - it was not a decision made by us - and switching site is a hugely complicated and expensive process. In fact, it is the biggest move ever undertaken by a music festival of this scale in the UK, organised in just a few short months. The cost has been substantial - to put in perspective, we have invested a seven-figure sum in bringing the event to life at Strathallan.
“In return, the festival has brought hundreds of millions of pounds to the Scottish economy over twenty-plus years. We're grateful that ministers recognised the event's importance with this payment to support the massive operational investment.
“Despite undoubted challenges this year, Strathallan is the right site and our team are working tirelessly to ensure next year's T in the Park is at its best”
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