Councils have spent more than £750,000 on booking celebrities to appear at events in one year, it was revealed today.
Some 348 town halls spent a total of £753,013 on acquiring the services of stars for events including concerts, competitions and Christmas lights switch-ons last year.
Former Westlife singer Kian Egan was paid £26,800 to perform by Armagh Council in Northern Ireland, which was the biggest fee of the year given to a performer by a local authority.
