The Mayor of London received at least £25,690 worth of hospitality this year, City Hall data has revealed.
The majority of this was £16,913.31 from Bloomberg Philanthropies for costs relating to the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November.
Other freebies accepted by Sir Sadiq Khan included tickets to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium and a talk by former US President Barack Obama.
Any City Hall staff - whether they be officials, Assembly Members or the Mayor himself - must declare any gifts and hospitality worth more than £25 within 28 days of receiving it.
Two major giveaways accepted this year - aside from the Brazil trip - were two tickets to the British Museum’s Inaugural Pink Ball charity fundraiser worth £1,875 and £2,609 to cover costs for a trip to Cannes for a leading real estate investment conference.
Officials said the purpose was to “attract global investment into London’s housing, infrastructure, and regeneration projects, promoting the city as a prime destination for sustainable growth and development.”
The actual value is likely to be significantly higher as officials said the monetary value of tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show President’s Lunch, the Mission Impossible Premiere and a Brentford FC game against the Mayor’s beloved Liverpool were “unknown”.
The figure is also slightly higher than the £24,714 worth of gifts and hospitality accepted in 2024.
Earlier the Mayor was urged to ensure every gift received was “appropriate” - though City Hall officials said he would make “no apology for banging the drum for the capital overseas”.
Susan Hall, who leads the Conservative Party group on the London Assembly, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “That the Mayor has had to declare all of these gifts and freebies transparently is a sign of how good our systems in Britain are at forcing politicians to be honest.
“But we can and must go further to ensure that gifts are appropriate, are not given by those who want something in return, and are not used as tools to engineer outcomes. When the Mayor tries to hide from scrutiny, such as he did over the Taylor Swift tickets, it undermines faith in these systems - we should be working to improve public trust, not erode it.”
Sir Sadiq’s Brazil trip was particularly scrutinised by the City Hall Tories at the time. Ms Hall demanded to know the number of airmiles clocked up during the visit.
“The return flights from London to Rio de Janeiro was 5,746 miles each way,” the Mayor said in a written answer.
“Where carbon emissions cannot be avoided, C40 will offset 100% of the emissions. Sustainability is prioritised and embedded in every aspect of the Summit’s planning and execution. From the handling of food, the type of food served and the creation of promotional materials to guest mobility and energy use, sustainability will be threaded throughout the organisation and logistics of the event.”
In a separate answer, he added: “All costs of my trip to Brazil were covered by Bloomberg Philanthropies with no cost to the taxpayer. Every effort is always made to keep costs down when I travel, and all expenses will be declared as usual.”
A month earlier, it emerged that the Mayor celebrated his 55th birthday on board a superyacht owned by billionaire Fulham FC owner Shahid Khan. Mr Khan’s Jacksonville Jaguars team regularly play games in London.
Earlier this year Sir Sadiq was cleared after an investigation into his acceptance of free tickets worth around £3,000 to a Taylor Swift concert in August 2024, from a contractor with links to the Greater London Authority (GLA).
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the LDRS: “London is a global city and Sadiq makes no apology for banging the drum for the capital overseas to promote growth, generate new trade and investment opportunities and develop cultural links.
“This is a vital part of the role of Mayor as he works to create new jobs and deliver economic prosperity for the capital. The previous Mayor made 34 international visits by plane, compared to Sadiq’s 17.”
