Edinburgh’s Lord Provost spent £1000 of taxpayers’ cash designing tartan guitar straps for Taylor Swift in the hope of meeting her – but was completely snubbed.
Robert Aldridge made a series of cringeworthy approaches attempting to set up a photocall with the singer while she was in Scotland for sell-out summer gigs.
He wanted to hand over a £1200 hamper which included the specially made straps along with a letter suggesting she should wear one on stage at Murrayfield.
After Taylor and her management ignored the Lib Dem provost’s approaches a council official even had to deliver the gift box to the gates.
Details of the bid to court the Love Story singer are in documents released to the Sunday Mail under Freedom of Information laws.
Ross McKenzie, an independent Edinburgh councillor, said: “The Provost may have been ghosted by Taylor Swift but there are plenty of people in the area I represent who’d love to meet him to discuss unsanitary accommodation and inadequate care packages.”
The two guitar straps in the “civic gift” featured a specially designed tartan and cost taxpayers up to £500 a piece.
Officials hoped Taylor would wear one on stage, and sign the other so it could be auctioned for charity.
But she opted instead for a plain black strap, and left the second strap behind without signing it.
Bizarrely Edinburgh City Council intends to go ahead with the charity auction.
The total cost of the items to Edinburgh’s marketing budget was documented to be at least £1235.
Edinburgh’s troubled council is run by Labour, despite having just 10 of 63 seats.
Council leader Cammy Day quit this month after the Sunday Mail revealed he had sent explicit messages to Ukrainian refugees.
A source close to the gigs said: “I think there was some concern about setting precedents where every city would go above and beyond, and then the artist is asked to do photo calls in pretty much every major city.”
In April, Aldridge wrote in vain to the events team at Murrayfield, asking them to sound out her management about attending a civic reception at the City Chambers.
A council official said that the hamper could include “miniatures of Lind and Lime, Edinburgh Gin and perhaps a local whisky for her beau.”
Attempts were made to contact Taylor’s management for comment.
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – sign up to our daily newsletter here.