GLASGOW City Council is under fire for spending nearly £50,000 on a slew of performances by "Z-list" acts, while cutting jobs and services.
The council shelled out the money to get X Factor competitors including Jedward and Marcus Collins to play short sets, as well as older acts such as the Drifters.
David Meikle, the sole Conservative councillor in the city, criticised the spending decision.
In February, the council backed cuts totalling £42.6 million. Disability day care centres were earmarked for the axe, while school meal and nursery fees have been increased. The cuts follow thousands of job losses in recent years.
However, it has now emerged that the council found £112,595 from its budget to fund last year's Glasgow Show, a two-day music and entertainment festival. A family ticket cost £15 - councillors got in free.
A large chunk of the budget was given to firms to deliver "well-known artists".
Around £4,000 was spent to secure The Mend, a boy band that came eighth in Britain's Got Talent last year. Just over £2,000 was spent on a 20-minute set plus "meet and greet" by Stavros Flatley, described as a "father and son comedy dance duo", another Britain's Got Talent act.
The council also paid Zap Entertainment £25,800 to secure Irish singing duo Jedward, pop group S Club and Glasgow-based songwriter TJ Bilham.
Another £3,500 was found to hire Michelle McManus, the Scots singer who won Pop Idol in 2003 who is now a TV and radio presenter, while £1,000 was paid to a management firm for The Luminites.
The council stumped up £10,800 for a four-track set and "meet and greet" for Marcus Collins, who came second in the 2011 X Factor, and £2,700 for veteran soul group the Drifters.
While the council spent £112,595 on the 2012 Glasgow Show, the income raised was £161,494.14. However, the expenditure figure excludes staff costs.
In 2011, income from the show was £133,148.
Meikle said: "The public will rightly ask why the council is spending taxpayers' money on 'Z-list' celebrities at the same time frontline services are being cut or charges introduced. Furthermore, the council can't complain about having less funding from the government at the same time it wastes money. Maybe it suggests the council's priorities clearly aren't its people, but misjudged prestige."
Graeme Hendry, the SNP group leader on the council, said: "That the council thought it appropriate to spend more money on bands this year is hard to fathom. Why not invest the money in supporting local bands instead of spending so much money on predominantly 'Z-list' performers?"
A spokesman said: "The Glasgow Show is always a popular event in the city's calendar, with around 70,000 people from across the city and beyond enjoying the weekend."
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