MTV awards generate £9m for Edinburgh

Published on Tuesday 16 March 2004 00:00

HOSTING the MTV Europe music awards in Edinburgh last year generated nearly £9 million for the Scottish economy, more than double the original forecast.

Throughout Scotland, a total of 8.9 million was spent as result of the musical extravaganza in Leith last November.

It was originally thought the event, hosted by American pop star Christina Aguilera, with guests including Justin Timberlake, Pink, Travis and Beyonc, would bring in economic benefits of 4.2 million, but new figures revealed the event was worth 6.4 million to Edinburgh alone.

A further 300,000 was spent in the Lothians, with an additional 2.2 million generated across Scotland.

Frank McAveety, the minister for tourism, culture and sport, said Edinburgh and Scotland had "benefited immensely" and Scotland should use the success as a "calling card" to attract other high-profile events.

He said: "My view is that we should use this success to attract other world-class events. We’ve substantially exceeded the short-term economic benefits that were forecast. We should not forget the long-term benefits we can expect, as this occasion delivered a global profile for Scotland as a world-class location for tourism and business."

He added: "Edinburgh is a great European capital city and people are still talking about the MTV awards. It is critically important to remember the economic benefits but even more important to capitalise on the profile."

The figures were contained in a study carried out by independent consultants SQW for Scottish Enterprise, Edinburgh Council and EventScotland.

Bruce Macdonald, of SQW, said in addition to the extra income generated at the time of the event, world-wide TV coverage was worth an estimated 8.6 million in advertising.

Global print coverage, with 928 newspapers writing about the event, led to a readership of more than 500 million, worth about 4.8 million.

Billboard, the prestigious American music magazine, said "the MTV awards demonstrated how the event can be used to showcase a city, or indeed a country, to the world". France’s Tele 7 Jours, the country’s largest selling TV guide and magazine, called Edinburgh the "flamboyant capital of Scotland", and. in Poland, the Metro newspaper said "many Scottish accents gave splendour to the ceremony".

The awards received 77 hours of coverage on MTV and were watched by 14 million people in Europe. In Spain, 45 per cent more viewers watched the Edinburgh ceremony than in 2002, when the awards were held in Barcelona.

"Edinburgh was such a great location for us. We managed to include the city and some Scottishness into the show and coming back again has reminded me of how good it was. We’re delighted the partnership has resulted in so many positives and we’re happy to tell anybody who asks how easy it was to work here and what a pleasure it was to host the event here," said Richard Godfrey, the executive producer of MTV Europe.

The economic benefit analysis shows occupancy rates in Edinburgh’s hotels were up by 26 per cent on normal levels as a result of the awards.

A survey of the city’s retailers showed that 37 per cent said their takings had gone up, 37 per cent reported no change, but 25 per cent said their revenue had declined due to the closure of Princes Street during the award ceremony.

Edinburgh Council’s leader, Donald Anderson, said it had to be remembered that Edinburgh was also hosting a NATO conference during the time of the MTV awards and the city managed to host both without any setbacks.

He said the city is now enjoying a "honeymoon effect", thanks to the MTV awards, with hotel occupancy rates at 68 per cent last month, an all-time record.

Despite some criticism of the public sector for supporting the event with 750,000, Mr Anderson said the economic benefits were plain for people to see.

"An 8.9 million boost to the Scottish economy, of which more than 70 per cent has gone directly to Edinburgh’s economy, is a very significant return.

"It is clear from these findings that we have reached new audiences, showing Edinburgh is among the world’s top destinations for visitors and conferences and events of this scale."

He added: "MTV gave Edinburgh and the one billion viewers worldwide a fantastic party and it was an unforgettable experience that has left a lasting legacy for the city."