Concert hospitality bill revealed

The Eagles: Fourth act to play at Stormont

Hospitality amounting to £24,000 of taxpayers' money was spent at a rock concert in the grounds of Stormont last year, it has been revealed.

The concert, by American rock group The Eagles, was held in the grounds of the province's parliament buildings in Belfast last June.

It was the fourth music event to be staged there since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

The figure was highlighted following an Audit Office investigation into the way public money given to the government funded Northern Ireland Events Company was spent.

Eagles: Played in NI in June 2001

Commenting on the figure on Wednesday, the auditor general said he was concerned at the spending which he said was "well out of line with anything he was aware of elsewhere in the public sector in the province".

In a report to an assembly watchdog committee, the Public Accounts Committee, it found the money was spent on free tickets, meals and drinks.

It examined spending at The Eagles concert where about 900, or £14,000 worth of free tickets were handed out.

The Northern Ireland Events Company, which was set up by the government, paid more than £9,000 for guests it had invited.

Potential sponsors

Its role is to support the promotion of major events which have the potential to reflect a positive image of Northern Ireland, create opportunity for greater social cohesion and bring economic benefits.

However, it has been revealed that only one private company which was entertained at the concert subsequently offered sponsorship for another event.

The Audit Office has questioned whether the hospitality was sufficiently well targeted.

It said few of the guests appeared likely to be classed as potential sponsors.

Following a golfing tournament in the province last year, the auditor recommended the events company tighten up on ticketing after he discovered that only 14% of the spectators actually paid for a ticket.

Part of this was accounted for by the adding in of players, caddies and staff as spectators to improve the reported crowd figures.

A spokesperson from the Department of Culture Arts & Leisure, under whose remit the Northern Ireland Events Company operates, said the department had been happy to co-operate with the Audit Office in its enquiries.

However, they said it would be inappropriate to make any comment until the Public Accounts Committee decided on its course of action.