Council pays £50,000 for celebrity backing of Birmingham events

Jul 5 2010 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post

Council bosses in Birmingham paid a string of celebrities a combined £50,000 to back events and hand out awards, according to new figures.

Ex-EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson, TV chef Phil Vickery and former BBC news presenter Ashley Blake were among those who were hired by Birmingham City Council for PR work.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act showed the authority spent £79,909 on hiring celebrities from 2006 to 2009.

Of that amount, £27,000 was raised through sponsorship, leaving a total of £52,909 funded by taxpayers.

A council spokesman said payments to celebrities were always carefully considered.e said: “On select occasions, where it is judged that their involvement will help in the promotion of a key service, or motivating staff to improve delivery, the council will sometimes recruit the services of guest speakers or celebrities.

“In many cases the costs of such recruitment are met through external sponsorship or extra income generated specifically thanks to that high-profile individual’s involvement.”