Why this Scottish council has been criticised for Taylor Swift Eras Tour message to staff

An Edinburgh councillor has criticised the local authority for asking staff to volunteer as marshals ahead of Taylor Swift’s series of shows at Murrayfield.

The American superstar’s Eras Tour arrives in Edinburgh next month and council employees were offered the chance to “warmly welcome visitors to the city, guide the public to Murrayfield, and provide general information”.

Swift will play three sold-out shows in the capital from Thursday, June 7 to Sunday, June 9, and is expected to entertain around 215,000 fans.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour will soon arrive in the UK. | AFP via Getty Images

An internal advert asked that managers be as “flexible as possible” in accommodating the tour as “colleagues have the chance to play a crucial role in ensuring these events run smoothly and safely”.

However, Labour councillor Katrina Faccenda criticised Edinburgh Council for the request, stating that by requesting help with the show other duties would fail to be covered.

She said: “The council is donating the value of the hours volunteered to enable private companies to profit."

In a post on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, the councillor also said: “I can’t believe with what folk are paying for Taylor Swift tickets the council has the [nerve] to advertise for volunteer stewards promising a ‘rewarding experience’. Honestly - get the touts who masquerade as ticket agencies to cough up their profits and pay folk a shift.”

The council defended itself by highlighting past events such as the King’s Coronation where volunteers were previously sought.

Council leader Cammy Day said: “It’s not unusual for council colleagues to carry out ambassadorial roles, as they’ve done so successfully for large scale public events in past – and, as ever, we’ve had a great response to our appeal for volunteers. I know they’re immensely proud to work for the council and to represent their city.”

Council ‘enabling private companies to profit’

But Councillor Faccenda disagreed with the local authority’s stance that the Eras Tour is considered a “major event”, arguing that the council instead should avoid enabling “others to get rich when nothing comes directly to the council”.

The internal advert stated: “These concerts are expected to be the largest events ever held at Murrayfield, with thousands of visitors descending upon the city. Colleagues have the chance to play a crucial role in ensuring these events run smoothly and safely.

“For those who volunteer during their regular working hours, you will be compensated as usual. Any additional hours worked will be paid as overtime, in accordance with our normal overtime rules. We understand that volunteering may impact your other work, and we have requested managers to be as flexible as possible in accommodating this.”

Katrina Faccenda has criticised Edinburgh Council for calling on staff to volunteer at Taylor Swift’s Murrayfield concerts.

She said: "This is not a public occasion like Olympics or Commonwealth Games, it is a concert by a performer who is a billionaire and the tickets have been sold for vast sums.

“Hotel rooms are being upsold by booking agencies well above rack rates for massive profits and until we learn to be more assertive and stop listening to the stories of how much we are benefiting pitched to us by the profiteers, the profiteers and large scale events will never benefit the residents of Edinburgh as much as they could."

Councillor Day said that he is proud of the welcome Edinburgh provides to visitors but that he’s “clear” it can’t come at the expense of council services.

He said: “We’re rightly proud of the warm welcome we provide to the millions of people who choose to visit our great city each year.

“With Taylor Swift performing three sell-out shows at Murrayfield, and over two hundred thousand people expected to attend over the weekend, this is another huge opportunity for the city – both in terms of the benefit it will bring to the local economy and as a further boost to our global reputation as a great place to live, work and visit.”

He added: “I’m clear, however, that this can’t come at the expense of delivering our core services – nor can it come as a cost to the Council. I’ve therefore asked officers to work with the organisers to review how these costs are met, but also to think more widely about how we work together to continue delivering world class events for our capital city.”