POPE Benedict XVI’s state visit to Glasgow and Edinburgh cost the Scottish Government over £800,000, the Herald can reveal.
The
amount of taxpayers’ money spent by Holyrood on the occasion amounts to
almost £85,000 per hour of the Pontiff’s stop-off in Scotland last
September, during which he led more than 200,000 worshippers at an open
air mass at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park.
A further 50,000 spectators watched the Popemobile tour the centre of Edinburgh as part of a St Ninian’s Day parade.
The
cost of UK state visit was split between Holyrood, Whitehall and the
Catholic Church, with extra security and policing largely financed by
individual forces.
It emerged Friday
that the UK Government spent at least £7 million, before security, over
the course of the four-day trip, which included an open-air mass in
Birmingham.
The Catholic Church has been
asked to reimburse the taxpayer another £6.35m for the lavish pastoral
events staged over the four days.
The
Holyrood contribution does not include the total policing bill for the
Scottish stages of his visit or the final costs to either Edinburgh or
Glasgow councils.
Figures released by
Fiona Hyslop, minister for culture and external affairs, show the
Scottish Government spent £75,000 on the Edinburgh parade, with £41,000
given to Edinburgh City Council to prepare the route for the procession.
A
further £336,000 was spent on public safety and security measures at
Bellahouston Park, with the UK Government spending £264,030 on the
event.
The total cost of the open-air mass was £1.4m.
Ms Hyslop called the visit a “tremendous success”.
Holyrood estimates that the
events in Edinburgh generated spending in the capital of up to £4m.
In
Glasgow, the figure is believed to be in the region of £4.25m.