Just a third of tickets for last year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks went to Londoners despite a chunk of the £3.1 million cost coming from the public purse.
Figures from the Mayor’s Office confirm just 32 per cent of the 106,000 tickets went to residents. A fifth went to overseas visitors while the remainder were sold across the rest of the UK.
Labour called for Londoners to be given priority access, with half the tickets reserved for residents until at least a month before next year’s event.
Fiona Twycross, the party’s London economic spokesman, said: “Given it is London taxpayers who stump up cash to fund the fireworks, we should give them a fair chance at getting tickets.”
Just £758,000 of the £3.1 million cost of the 2015 fireworks was raised from ticket sales after VAT and booking fees were deducted.
The remaining £2.3 million was met by London taxpayers and event sponsorship, although the exact breakdown is not known.
A spokesman for the Mayor said: “We looked at ringfencing a proportion for residents, but the complexity to administer would add extra costs and not necessarily guarantee any more Londoners getting tickets. This is why tickets went on sale months in advance.”
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