THE cost of Glasgow City Council’s (GCC) safety preparations for George Square during Rangers’ Europa League Final has been revealed.
In the run-up to Rangers’ Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt, council chiefs made preparations for the city centre spot to mitigate any damage that could ensue from any title celebrations.
After winning the SPFL in 2021, a number of Rangers fans took to the square to celebrate – which ended up causing damage to the area, specifically to the statues and memorial benches placed around the open space.
Statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert required significant repairs, with the statue of Victoria failing a “topple test” meaning it was moving on its plinth and needed to be fenced off. Overall, the cost of the repairs and clean-up to the square back in May 2021 was £58,000.
However, with the potential for another party if Rangers were victorious against Eintracht Frankfurt, GCC removed the memorial benches and put-up fencing around the pillars and statues situated around the square.
A Freedom of Information request has revealed that the overall cost of the preparations came to £5925.60.
The breakdown of this overall cost was £1821.00 for the removal and reinstallation of the benches and £4104.60 for the installation of the fencing around the statues and plinths.
Ultimately, the preparations were not put to the test as fans were not in the party mood after being defeated by Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties after extra time.
Glasgow City Council has been contacted for comment.
