Chart-topper Peter Andre was paid £20,000 of taxpayers’ cash to perform at Perth’s Christmas lights switch-on ceremony, it has emerged.
Perth and Kinross Council was forced to reveal the true cost of the Mysterious Girl singer’s appearance after ademand by Scotland’s information commissioner.
The local authority had hoped to keep the cost a secret, claiming releasing details following a Freedom of Information request would be a “breach of confidence”.
But following an appeal, the information commissioner ruled that details of artists’ fees would not be exempt from disclosure, despite the council’s protests that it couldjeopardise future shows.
That led Perth and Kinross Council to finally reveal on Tuesday that Andre was paid £20,000, while band Jack Pack received £4,000.
Disco superstars Boney M, who also played at the outdoor show, were paid £8,000, while other acts Lorraine Crosby and Sienna got £1,200 and £1,000 respectively.
The council also spent £4,500 on travel, accommodation and other expenses.
A council spokeswoman said that revealing the fees “seriously jeopardises our ability to secure headline acts for future events”.
“Indeed, we have already received correspondence from the entertainment industry to this effect,” she added.
Enterprise and infrastructure committee convener John Kellas said the celebration was a great success and generated a £1.9 million boost to the local economy.
“The festival programme is still a fairly new concept to Perth, but year on year the event has got bigger andbetter and we are learning from each one.
“It is disappointing that we are having to release these figures and the potential impact this will have in the council being able to secure a high-profile, popular celebrity personality for future events is a concern to the continued success of the Winter Festival.”
Perth councillor John Flynn described the £20,000 payment as “extortionate”.
He said: “We are elected members but we don’t get a say on who performs and how much they get paid. I don’t think councillors would have voted for this.”