Taylor Swift during her Eras Tour in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Image: Getty)
Taylor Swift reportedly “ghosted” the Lord Provost of Edinburgh after he tried to arrange a meeting with her, as well as spending £1,200 of taxpayers’ money on a hamper to gift to the singer.
Senior Liberal Democrat Robert Aldridge was snubbed after he attempted to set up a photo call with the Eras tour star when she performed in the Scottish city last summer. Mr Aldridge wanted to deliver a “civic gift” hamper worth £1,200, which included two specially commissioned tartan guitar straps that cost up to £500 each.
The Lib Dem wrote a letter to accompany the present, suggesting that Ms Swift used one of the straps for her guitar during a concert in Edinburgh. He then hoped the singer would sign the other strap and return it to the city for a charity auction.
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Taylor Swift’s Edinburgh city hamper. (Image: Edinburgh city council)
However, reports by the Sunday Mail say that the singer did not respond, which led to a council official delivering the hamper to Murrayfield’s gates.
Instead of the tartan strap, Ms Swift used a plain black one during her performances and left the second behind without a signature.
Instead, she made a donation to the Edinburgh Food Project, which runs seven food banks in the city. The charity praised her for the difference the undisclosed amount would make, thanking her for the generosity.
Edinburgh council estimated that the tour had generated tens of millions of pounds to the local economy as thousands of fans went to see her perform.
Lord Provost is Edinburgh’s civic head, performing a similar function to mayors in England. His attempts to connect with the singer were revealed in documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
Ross McKenzie, an independent Edinburgh councillor, told the Sunday Mail: “The Provost may have been ghosted by Taylor Swift but there are plenty of people in the area I represent who’d love to meet him to discuss unsanitary accommodation and inadequate care packages.”
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Mr Aldridge wanted to deliver a “civic gift” hamper worth £1,200. (Image: Getty)
Despite Ms Swift not signing the tartan strap, the city council still plans to go ahead with the auction in January.
In a statement, Cllr Aldridge said: “The civic gift hamper was an imaginative way to showcase the very best of Scotland’s capital city and our local businesses, while celebrating our Edinburgh 900 programme. The vast majority of the costs were met by the businesses themselves, with the hamper featuring prominently in both local and national media.
“The second Edinburgh 900 guitar strap, of which only two exist, will be auctioned at my Burns Supper in support of the One City Trust, which I will host in January.”
The Telegraph reports Ms Swift’s senior management team being unable to locate the Lord Provost’s request which raises the possibility of it not being brought to their attention during her visit.