News / Marvin Rees
Rees’ final major speech as Bristol mayor cost taxpayers £5,000
An event at the Bristol Beacon where Marvin Rees made his final major speech as city mayor and discussed his time in office cost city council taxpayers more than £5,000.
Bristol City Council said it spent a total of £5,353.77 on the event in March where Rees made a speech and then spoke with historian and broadcaster David Olusoga in the Lantern Hall.
In answer to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the council broke down the individual costs for the event including the hiring of a teleprompter operator and photographer.
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There was £1,832 for venue hire and support; £1,990 to video the event, which was live-streamed and is available to watch on YouTube; £613.50 spent on two sign language interpreters; £564.28 for the teleprompter operator; £295 for the photographer; £39 on printing; and £19.99 to Eventbrite which promoted the tickets.
The member of the public who submitted the FOI also asked how many hours of officer time were dedicated to the occasion, but the authority replied that this was not tracked.
Asked to comment on the costs, a mayor’s office spokesperson said: “This public event was fully booked within hours of being announced.
“Over 1,400 people have already watched it online, where the video is available to view on the council’s YouTube page and the mayor’s blog.”
The event on March 13 took place on the 100th day since Bristol Beacon reopened.
Marvin Rees spoke to David Olusoga after his final speech as mayor – photo: Martin Booth
Rees, who is two weeks away from leaving office at the end of his second term after eight years as directly elected mayor – a role residents voted to scrap in a 2022 referendum – told the audience that the city suffered a “lack of self-belief” and “debilitating cynicism”.
After the speech he took questions from Olusoga and attendees.
Main photo: Bristol City Council
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