Glasgow rocks with gig revenue

Gillian Marles
BBC Scotland business reporter

Bruce Springsteen's concert brought a £2m boost to the Glasgow economy

When Bruce Springsteen played Hampden this week, people travelled from the other end of the world to see him.

Glasgow city marketing bureau said the one night concert netted the city more than £2m.

It followed gigs by AC/DC, The Eagles and Take That which in just over one month generated something in the region of £11m for the local economy.

With Coldplay and U2 due to play later this year the city's tourism body expects a £15m boost to the economy.

Joe Aitken, head of events for the bureau, said the figures were based on well qualified assumptions.

He said: "We look at where people are coming from and how much they're spending and we would multiply that by the number of people going to the concert. So if you take something like Take That we estimate it's something like £5.7m for the three concerts."

We ran out of wine for about twenty minutes which was scary Damian Ewing Bar manager

Different concerts attract different audiences and a strategic major events forum keeps a close eye on the patterns and flow of business coming in and out of Glasgow to make sure businesses are prepared to meet the needs of the audiences.

However, despite all the planning some have been caught out.

Take That brought hoards of women in their thirties and forties to Glasgow last month. One pub owner described it as "one gigantic hen night."

Bars like The Church on the Hill on the south side of the city bought in extra wine and spirits to make cocktails but it was not enough.

'No losers'

Damian Ewing who runs the bar said it was frightening: "We ran out of wine for about 20 minutes which was scary.

"The pub called in supplies from other places and there was great relief when it arrived."

Bars and pubs around the stadium said they generally liked the concert-going audiences because they caused little trouble. Damian Ewing said it was different to some other events.

He said: "Everyone's really happy, there are no losers here - it's not like a football game when you don't really know what's going to happen. Everyone's just up for a real laugh."

This year's run of concerts at Hampden have attracted an older audience and one which Philip Jump of the Bruce Springsteen fan club thinks is good for the economy.

He organises trips to all of "The Boss's" gigs bringing around 300 fans each time to the various locations worldwide.

An event like this gives you an opportunity to see somewhere that you wouldn't normally go to Jenny Litman Tourist

Speaking just hours before Springsteen appeared on the Hampden stage, he said: "I think most of the people who come on the trips are in their 40s and 50s so they have a lot more disposable income.

"You can't get a hotel room in Glasgow for love nor money tonight."

It is not just Glasgow's economy which has benefited from the recent events at Hampden.

Some tourists come for the concert and base their whole holiday around it.

Shelley de Vere from South Africa said: "I have been to Edinburgh and now Glasgow, I am taking advantage of the visit to see other things. I've been to all the museums. It's really really beautiful."

Scotland benefits

Jenny Litman from Germany said she was not taking a major holiday this year.

She said: "This is a great chance to see Glasgow and Edinburgh and a bit of Scotland in general.

"I think an event like this just gives you an opportunity to see somewhere that you wouldn't normally go to and have a long weekend from home."

The overall economic benefit to Scotland's economy from music concerts is difficult to calculate.

A spokesman for VisitScotland agreed that events at major venues brought in between £1.5m and £2m each time, depending on who was playing.

When you take in smaller concerts, the boost to the economy is believed to be well over £100m.