2. Will the First Minister make a statement on Cardiff's bid to hold matches for the 2020 UEFA European Football Championships? (OAQ51086)

Yes. We’ve been meeting with the Football Association of Wales about this potential bid. We already have an ambitious major events strategy and we’ll continue to meet with the key stakeholders to consider how we can take this forward.

Yes, thanks for the response. It’s usually potentially a good idea to make a bid for these large events due to the potential to generate revenue for local businesses, although there is also the possibility of disruption as well. So, there is a balance that we have to make. But we do have a problem at the moment with the state of Cardiff Central Square and also the possible lack of capacity of Cardiff Central railway station. So, are you confident that those issues will be resolved in time for those championships in the summer of 2020?

Yes. Central Square is being developed rapidly now. With regard to Cardiff Central station, that’s a matter for Network Rail. We have pushed Network Rail. I’ve done it in meetings with Network Rail and it’s being done in other ways to redevelop Cardiff Central. It’s at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds but, nevertheless, it’s a redevelopment that is needed. We know that, potentially, the passenger numbers at the station will increase three-fold over the next 30 years. With 11 million passengers a year going through the station, it’s by far the busiest in Wales and it’s growing. We’re almost at the point where trains are queuing to get into the station. So, we have impressed on Network Rail the need to invest in that station given the fact that for so many people it’s the gateway to Wales.

First Minister, I commend what your Government and the previous administration has done to attract high-level events and how you’ve worked with the respective sporting associations. I think that’s a key partnership, and these sorts of achievements produce a gift that keeps on delivering because the marketing value—. People still talk about the wonderful days when the FA Cup was in Cardiff. Many people would like it back, or at least the semi-finals, which, of course, are in Wembley still because of their particular business model. But it really is an exciting way to market Wales and there’ve been great, great benefits, and you should really learn the lessons about how much a Government can do to market the nation as a whole.

Very much so. We’ve learnt that over the years. Not long after I became First Minister, the Ryder Cup was held and that was a huge event: some 25,000 people there on the final day, millions watching around the world. And, of course, culminating with the Champions League final, which, ironically, was almost a consolation prize for us for not getting to be chosen as a venue for the 2020 championships. It’s a consolation prize we very much welcome, of course, in that regard. But what’s been key to this is the vision that was shown particularly in the 1990s to develop the Principality Stadium. It was controversial at the time, and he must remember that. But when we look back at the old stadium, it was basically a concrete bowl with toilets. That’s the way it was described. Now, of course, it’s a far more modern stadium we can attract these events. And it’s true to say that sport carries probably the greatest reach of all when it comes to promoting Wales, and we know, of course, with the Euros last year, that probably had the greatest effect in terms of signalling to people that Wales exists as a separate nation, and, of course, triggering more interest in Wales, therefore triggering more investment in time and more visitors.

To present a slightly contrary view, Llywydd, in evidence to the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee last week, the Wales Tourism Alliance said that whilst the focus will need to remain on major international events, they only tend to benefit a small number of locations, particularly Cardiff. The chief executive of the European Tourism Operators Alliance agreed and said there were lots of reasons for having a party, but economic benefit for the tourism industry is not necessarily one of them. What is the First Minister’s view and how can the Government take steps to ensure that large-scale international events don’t harm the Welsh tourism industry?

We can have both. One of the issues that we face with large-scale events is we have to ensure that people have places to stay outside Wales. The reality is the capacity isn’t there entirely in Wales to host people as they come to Wales. That will develop over time. It isn’t the case that it’s either spending money on major events or spending money on the rest of Wales. For example, we’ve supported tourism initiatives around Wales. We look at initiatives such as Surf Snowdonia in the north and the support we give to rural businesses around Wales. In some ways, a major event provides an immediate economic impact, but also, of course, it acts as a catalyst for developing interest in Wales and, therefore, for tourism around the whole of Wales. So, the immediate impact, it’s true to say, is more localised, but the longer term impact, in my view, is much broader, and that’s of course the way we’d want it to be.