Mayor of London gifted numerous 'freebies' to major music and sports events since election in 2016
Neil Johnston. Amy Gibbons Political Correspondent. Ben Butcher Data Editor 01 October 2024 7:01pm
Sadiq Khan has received more than £100,000 in gifts and hospitality since taking office, including tickets to see Madonna and Bruce Springsteen and seats at three Champions League football finals.
The Mayor of London also enjoyed free access to Abba Voyage and the Vogue World fashion show, cricket, boxing, tennis and thousands of pounds' worth of free travel and accommodation.
Amid the growing scandal over "freebies" given to senior Labour figures, analysis by The Telegraph reveals that Mr Khan has received nearly £110,000 in gifts and hospitality since he was first elected in 2016.
His team of deputy mayors and commissioners have received another £250,000 in gifts.
Among the recent gifts were six tickets for Taylor Swift at Wembley in August, paid for by the FA, which were worth £194 each.
Mr Khan also received a free ticket to the Champions League final in June from Uefa worth £1,000 which was listed as part of an official engagement as the host city.
The mayor, a Liverpool FC fan, was given two tickets to the Carabao Cup Final worth £800 in February where he watched his side beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley.
He has received over £4,000 worth of tickets for Liverpool games since 2017, including a £1,200 ticket to the 2019 Champions League final where his side beat Tottenham 2-0. Liverpool paid for two one way tickets back from Madrid.
Three years later he received tickets to watch Liverpool lose in the same fixture to Real Madrid in Paris worth €690 each. He listed the reason for accepting as being a "guest of UEFA, a key London partner", rather than the fact he is a Liverpool fan.
Only last week Mr Khan was spotted arriving in a Range Rover alongside security for Liverpool's 3-0 win against Bournemouth. He has 28 days to declare any hospitality if the tickets were gifts.
Last October he received two Madonna tickets worth £800 for her gig at the O2 where he reportedly sat near pop star Rita Ora.
Just three months earlier he enjoyed £239.90 worth of tickets to Bruce Springsteen at Hyde Park courtesy of The Royal Docks.
Mr Khan has also attended four Wimbledon finals receiving tickets worth more than £13,000 from the All England Club.
Other sporting events he received free tickets for include several high profile boxing matches including one £999 ticket for Amir Khan v Kell Brook in February 2022 in Manchester and £990 for two tickets to the New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox in 2019 as part of an official engagement.
Other tickets have included tickets to the ICC World Cup Final in 2019 worth £590, attending the Brit awards twice and for Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.
He has also received free tickets to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella in 2021, the premiere of No Time To Die the same year and the opening night of Hamilton in 2017.
As mayor he has received numerous gifts ranging from a £2,000 Swarovski Crystal portrait registered as an "unsolicited gift" and a signed photograph of Muhammad Ali worth £1,500.
It is unclear which gifts have been kept and many have been listed as "impolite to return".
Mr Khan has also previously been given thousands of pounds in clothes including £1,200 worth of items from Giorgio Armani listed as a "congratulations gift" after he was first elected and two donations from Hugo Boss worth £2,500.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London, said: "As Mayor, Sadiq works tirelessly to bang the drum for London and act as a champion of the capital's creative and sporting sectors.
"Any gift accepted by the Mayor is declared openly and transparently and is subject to strict rules."
