While the custom tartan guitar straps remain unused, the episode has highlighted the disconnect between city officials and their constituents, leaving taxpayers questioning the priorities of Edinburgh’s leadership.
The elaborate gesture, which included tartan guitar straps and a luxury hamper, was an attempt to secure a meeting or a photocall with Swift during her sold-out summer concerts in Scotland.
Taylor Swift may have sung about “Love Stories,” but this one was far from a fairytale ending for the Lord Provost.
Independent Edinburgh councillor Ross McKenzie quipped, “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.”
Concerns About Celebrity Courting
A source close to Swift’s summer performances suggested that her team may have rejected the gesture to avoid setting a precedent where every city attempts to court her with gifts and events.
Despite the lack of response, Edinburgh City Council still plans to auction the unsigned guitar strap for charity. The total expenditure for the failed gesture was documented as coming from the council’s marketing budget.
