A SCOTTISH council is to spend almost a quarter of a million pounds on New Year celebrations – two weeks after the country's largest city ditched its own.
Private companies are poised to bid to run Stirling’s Hogmanay calendar after the city council announced plans to auction off organisation of the next four years of events.
The spend – estimated to reach £225,000 by 2014 – comes a fortnight after Glasgow’s traditional Hogmanay event in George Square was cancelled due to concerns over value for money.
Stirling Council said the investment was aimed at expanding a wider “festival” of events beyond the usual midnight party as they seek to boost the city’s appeal to visitors ahead of the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn in 2014. However, Labour said public funds ought to be focused on frontline services rather than the midnight celebrations.
John Park, Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife said: “I’m all for celebrating New Year but in these difficult times perhaps people should be organising their own entertainment instead of Stirling Council spending almost quarter of a million pounds to organise things for them.
“I’m sure the public would much rather see that money put to better use elsewhere.
“How many teachers or care workers could be employed with this money? Perhaps the council should think again about whether this is a good use of their resources.”
The four-year contract covers “performance programming and delivery” of the New Year festival celebrations, including the renowned Hogmanay party at Stirling Castle. Costs on entertainment will be scaled back almost £20,000 annually from an average of more than £75,000 over the past 10 years.
Councillor Steven Paterson, responsible for Empowerment & Citizenship at Stirling Council, said: “We’ve taken a positive decision to deliver a Hogmanay event that will attract local people and visitors alike to the heart of Scotland.
“We’re looking to work with experienced event organisers to build on our traditional Hogmanay and expand this into a wider New Year Festival. We have received support from local people and businesses.”
Glasgow City Council last month controversially axed its official Hogmanay party, opting instead to host a “family day” with music, ceilidh dancing and the Glasgow Bonspiel curling tournament.
The decision triggered the release of cut-price tickets for Stirling’s midnight celebrations, which went on sale last week in a controversial move months before any of the acts have been announced.
The special early-bird offer – in which the first 500 tickets were made available for £5 – is set to run until the end of August, prompting concerns the council could rake in cash before even revealing the line-up.
Last year some threatened to boycott the event after organisers revealed X Factor’s Wagner Carrilho was a headline act.
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