Scotland and the £9m MTV payback

But even as stars such as Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera screamed in typical rock ’n’ roll fashion: "We love you, Edinburgh" to a worldwide TV audience of more than 100 million, the show’s opponents were asking whether it was right to spend 750,000 of public money bringing a pop concert to Scotland.

As the celebrity-studded bandwagon decamps to Rome for this year’s ceremony on 18 November, with Eminem taking to the stage with the Beastie Boys, Usher, Franz Ferdinand, Nelly, The Hives, Maroon 5 and Gwen Stefani, many do believe there has been a lasting economic impact for Edinburgh and Scotland.

MTV’s legacy will be in attracting a younger tourist to Scotland for many years to come, experts believe.

New research shows that in 2003 almost half of the 4.1 million visitors to Scotland’s cities were aged between 16 and 34 with high-to-medium disposable incomes.

"MTV was really important in changing people’s perception of Scotland and introducing us to a younger market. On the back of this, we are marketing various action sports through our various websites. Through MTV we have been able to say Scotland is a funky place and can be great fun," said Philip Riddle, the chief executive of VisitScotland.

Professor John Lennon, of Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland’s foremost tourism expert, said the MTV awards were a "triumph in giving Edinburgh a global reach to the 16- to 25 year-olds that is virtually impossible using traditional media".

Shortly after the hotel suites were cleaned up and the American pop princesses Christina Aguilera, Pink and Beyonc finished their shopping sprees in Harvey Nichols, economic analysis commissioned by city leaders claimed that hosting the MTV Europe Music Awards generated nearly 9 million for the Scottish economy, more than double the original forecast.

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

Bruce Macdonald, of SQW, said that in addition to the extra income generated at the time of the event, worldwide 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.

Others, however, are less certain. One of Edinburgh’s leading events organisers said: "I don’t think that it has had any huge effect.

"Personally I think that the money would have been better spent on regenerating the established events like the Festival and Film Festival," he said. "Edinburgh Film Festival should now attract the attention of Cannes and Venice - there needs to be more enticement to attract the big stars and films."

The economic legacy may be doubted by some, but, says Mr Riddle, when VisitScotland is conducting market research, MTV is used to showcase Scotland as a holiday destination.

It plays a very major part in marketing city breaks, which account for around 34 per cent of all holidays in Scotland, he added.

A new website, myvisitscotland.com is already in place to capitalise on the massive interest in Edinburgh following the awards and aims to lure young "urban adventurers" to Edinburgh and Scotland’s five other cities.

Launched earlier this year, the site is designed to showcase hip highlights for younger visitors in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen, and is part of an initiative by VisitScotland lasting up to five years.

"Recently, we have been focusing market research activity in south-east England," said Mr Riddle. "We show clips of MTV, windsurfing, paragliding and the common response is ‘That’s not Scotland, is it?’

"There is absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind that it has helped to broaden the horizons."

David Williams, the chief executive of EventScotland, agrees. He said: "During the last 12 months, EventScotland has used the MTV experience while bidding and securing a host of events, including the 2007 World Badminton Championships and the 2007 World Mountain Bike Championships for Scotland.

"The success of the MTV Europe Music Awards is an excellent example of the power of working in partnerships and is a clear demonstration of how major events can generate significant economic benefit for Scotland."

He went on: "We will continue to use the success of the MTV Europe Music Awards to highlight Scotland’s capability of hosting world-class events and position the country as a leading events destination on the world stage."

The world stage has embraced Edinburgh, long after Justin Timberlake and the Black Eyed Peas stopped dancing in local bars into the early hours of the morning. It’s not just Edinburgh bars and nightclubs that are still to this day advertising Justin or Pink was here.

Billboard, the prestigious American music magazine, said the city would remain a beneficiary of worldwide attention, saying: "The MTV awards demonstrated how the event can be used to showcase a city, or indeed a country, to the world".

In France, Tele 7 Jours, the country’s largest-selling TV guide and magazine, called Edinburgh the "flamboyant capital of Scotland".

In Poland, the Metro newspaper highlighted the fact that "many Scottish accents gave splendour to the ceremony", despite the controversy of only one Scottish act, Travis, being allowed to sing at the predominantly US-led show while home-grown singers Shirley Manson and Sharleen Spiteri were relegated to reading out nominations and awards.

In total, the Edinburgh MTV awards received 77 hours of coverage on the MTV channel 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," said Richard Godfrey, the executive producer of MTV Europe. "We were delighted the partnership has resulted in so many positives, and we’ll tell anybody who asks how easy it was to work here and what a pleasure it was to host the event here."

Donald Anderson, the leader of Edinburgh City Council, said hosting the MTV awards has helped the city to consolidate its place as Britain’s favourite city. "It has greatly enhanced our profile as an events destination and has helped attract year-round tourism," he said.

"Even though the number of hotel beds in the city has risen by 20 per cent, we have still managed to increase occupancy levels by 1 per cent over the last year," he said. "Events such as Edinburgh’s Hogmanay add to the appeal, and this year our New Year celebrations are firmly on the right track."

Mr Anderson says the long-term benefits of the event will be apparent in years to come when young MTV viewers, maybe not old enough to travel independently, start embarking on holidays without parents.

The show, beamed worldwide, brought Edinburgh into the living-rooms of a young generation, untapped by holiday firms selling city breaks.

Mr Anderson added: "MTV gave Edinburgh an unforgettable experience that has left a lasting legacy for the city."