NEW data has revealed how much town/cities across the UK are spending on festivities throughout the year and in which city people are getting the most ‘bang’ for their council tax.
The research collected by gift and card retailer, Funky Pigeon following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has shown that Aberdeen spends on average £290,607.32 per year on Christmas celebrations.
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Data collected through the FOI request included spend on Christmas celebrations dating back to 2016, budgets for 2022 and where possible, itemised spends on fireworks, lights, Christmas tree, decorations and other celebrations such as Diwali and Bonfire Night.
Cross-referencing spends with population data, the research estimated how much budget is dedicated to every 1,000 people each year when it comes to festivities, with Aberdeen spending on average £1,448.11
Revellers in the city this Christmas should be sure to snap a pic in front of the Castlegate Christmas tree, with the cost of it coming in at £10,550.
The budget allocated has increased by 10.48% between 2016 and 2022, where £352,060 is planned to be spent.
Similarly for some councils across the UK, spending also appears to be increasing with Wolverhampton planning to spend £62,370 on Christmas in 2022 – an increase of 333% on 2016.
While festive budgets in Peterborough, Bolton, Stoke and Cardiff have all been reduced by more than half since 2016.
The top 10 spending cities of those analysed can be found below, with the full list, methodology and data here:
| Council | Population | 2016 | 2022 | % chg | Avg Spend | Avg spend/1000 |
| Aberdeen | 200680 | £318,664.04 | £352,060.00 | 10.48 | £290,607.32 | £1,448.11 |
| Dundee | 148280 | £170,901.73 | £110,000.00 | -35.64 | £141,612.30 | £955.03 |
| Bolton | 202369 | £292,113.24 | £100,000.00 | -65.77 | £192,346.17 | £950.47 |
| Peterborough | 175680 | £135,800.00 | £52,582.00 | -61.28 | £99,047.00 | £563.79 |
| Chelmsford | 116997 | £53,557.00 | £30,000.00 | -43.98 | £56,717.95 | £484.78 |
| Newcastle | 281842 | £112,249.00 | N/A | N/A | £126,354.50 | £448.32 |
| Cheltenham BID | 117843 | £60,424.00 | £47,000.00 | -22.22 | £49,946.43 | £423.84 |
| Bradford | 361046 | £151,000.00 | £151,000.00 | 0.00 | £151,000.00 | £418.23 |
| Leicester | 470965 | £147,200.00 | £150,000.00 | 1.90 | £156,600.00 | £332.51 |
| Ipswich | 150334 | £37,131.56 | £61,460.00 | 65.52 | £49,773.73 | £331.09 |
