Eurovision: Donaldson says 'lessons must be learned' over bid timing
- Published
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said "there are lessons to be learned" from Belfast's failure to make the shortlist to host 2023's Eurovision Song Contest.
The shortlist of seven UK cities that could host the contest in May was announced on Friday morning.
The DUP leader said Belfast was at a "significant disadvantage" because it was not submitted sooner.
The city council expressed an interest on Wednesday and said it was submitted "within the deadline".
Belfast was the only potential contender from Northern Ireland.
The BBC said the decision was based on the cities' ability to show they have "the capacity, capability and experience to host an event of this scale and complexity".
"It's disappointing to listen to the announcement this morning and that Belfast had been excluded at this stage," Mr Donaldson told BBC News NI.
"Perhaps there are lessons to be learned from this," he added.
'Joined-up approach'
"I think we should be quicker with our bid for this.
"There is a need for a more joined-up approach on these matters in the future, between local government and ministers at Stormont."
Belfast City Council said the first stage had been to submit an initial expression of interest, rather than a full bid and that it would have submitted a full bid had they been shortlisted.
The UK's Sam Ryder came second in this year's contest behind the Ukrainian winners
The seven cities in the running to host the Eurovision Song Contest include Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.
Twenty cities had expressed interest.
The UK was chosen to host the contest after organisers decided it could not be staged by Ukraine, the 2022 winners.
'Hampered by lack of functioning executive'
SDLP councillor, Séamas de Faoite, said he was disappointed at the decision.
"There was a lot of heart and soul put into Belfast's bid and a demonstration as to why we believed we were the best possible city to host," he said.
He said the lack of a functioning executive at Stormont did not help with the application to host the contest.
"Unfortunately our bid was hampered, like many things in the North, by the lack of functioning Executive to lead the way and lobby on our behalf," Mr de Faoite said.
Stormont has been without a power-sharing executive since February, due to the DUP's ongoing protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Councillor Seámas De Faoite says the lack of a functioning Executive hampered the bid
"We are blessed with great people, we have the talent and vision, but if we are ever going to address the issues around a lack of space, our infrastructure and maximise the potential of our night-time economy to enable us to attract major events like Eurovision then we need an Executive up and running to deliver on these issues.
"We were not successful on this occasion, but Belfast remains a city capable of hosting large scale events as we have proved repeatedly in the past with everything from music festivals to award shows and conferences."
Mr Donaldson rejected comments that the failed bid is linked to the stalemate at Stormont.
"I believe that it was simply a matter that we were very late in the day with our bid and that placed us at a significant disadvantage," Sir Jeffrey added.
Mr Donaldson said he was "hopeful of bringing major events to Northern Ireland in the next few years".
Belfast City Council submitted an expression of interest on Wednesday
"We want Northern Ireland to be a place that can attract more of these types of big events, particularly sporting events in future.
"We're working on a number of initiatives at the moment, which if they come to fruition and I'm very hopeful that they will, they will bring massive numbers of visitors to Northern Ireland and be a major boost to our local economy."
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