The organiser of Glasgow’s biggest music festival has warned customers will be driven away by the introduction of an outdoor entertainment tax.

As previously reported in the Evening Times, council chiefs voted to introduce a concert ticket levy to balance the toll taken by big events on city parks.

But Geoff Ellis, chief executive of DF Concerts, has said events such as TRNSMT provide a major boost for the city’s economy and should not be driven away. Speaking at Made in Glasgow, an event hosted by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Mr Ellis said that the people driving the leisure, tourism and night-time economy should be listened to and supported – not taxed out of existence.

READ MORE: Ticket tax on Glasgow gigs would make city ‘most expensive place in the UK for concerts’

He went on to say that the visitors who travel to

Glasgow come for an independent offering, an offering that should be nurtured and given the space to flourish.

Mr Ellis said: “People understand the value of events, but they think they can take money from them and that’s what scares them away. You can’t just tax success and put rates up when an area is thriving.

“If you tax success, you will drive business somewhere else. We’re Glasgow businesses but we can operate anywhere.”

He said the “people on the ground” providing hospitality and tourism for the city should be part of the visitor strategy process or they will move out of the city.

READ MORE: TRNSMT boss Geoff Ellis threatens to quit Glasgow over 'park tax'

Going on to talk about TRNSMT, he called for

more bands and, in particular, more female bands to emerge in an attempt to increase the diversity of the offering at the event.

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Other speakers at Made in Glasgow included James Rusk, co-founder of Rusk and Rusk; Lisa Lawson, founder of Dear Green Coffee and organiser of Glasgow Coffee Festival; and The Drink Cabinet Co-Founder Lauren Stewart.