Could Wembley events soon include a ‘ticket tax’?

At a meeting on July 7, Brent Council passed a motion to introduce a new tax on visitors staying overnight in the borough to help fund improvements in the area.

With big acts like Coldplay and Oasis playing this summer and autumn, Brent authority wants to use the growing events scene to raise additional funds and ensure the benefits are shared across the community.

Council leader Muhammed Butt has written to the UK government to explore the possibility of adding a levy to support grassroots music and cultural institutions. He also stated that it will help to create the "Next generation of acts to fill our stadiums and arenas."

Mr Butt also urged the government to give the council legal powers to add an "air and modest" charge to hotel and short-stay accommodation and explore the possibility of adding a fee to ticket prices.

Brent Council wants "further devolution of fiscal powers" so it can invest locally raised revenue back into the community.

The letter also states that the residents feel they're not receiving a fair share of the benefits from Wembley's success. It points to a significant funding gap to cover the costs of hosting events while maintaining residents ' quality of life.

While the growing number of events is seen as a positive, the council notes it places increasing pressure on local services like waste management and environmental enforcement.

The letter also stated that a locally collected and specifically allocated visitor levy is a fair way to make sure tourism and big events actually benefit the local community. They pointed out that this kind of system already works well in a lot of European cities.

In England, a tourist tax isn't currently allowed without new legislation. Creating a legal workaround, like the Accommodation Business Improvement District in Manchester and Liverpool, would be one way to approach it. This would require business approval and would place the levy on business rate payers, not visitors.