Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:34 pm on 19 June 2018.
The major events funding is there for one-off events, not for continuous revenue funding. But he is right to say, of course, that it's a good way of showcasing Wales. But we don't just attract events to have Welsh teams in them, if I can put it that way. We've just had the Volvo Ocean Race. There was Welsh participation, but there wasn't a Welsh team. The point was to bring the attention of the world to Cardiff Bay, and to Wales, and to see what we could host. The same with the Champions League—yes, there was Welsh participation, clearly, but there were no Welsh teams in it. So, I think it's hugely important that we are able to showcase ourselves as a nation that can host major events. We've done that incredibly successfully. We are by far the smallest nation, for example, to host the Champions League, and Cardiff is the smallest city to host the Champions League. We've done it, and there's no reason why we can't do it again. It shouldn't just be tied to whether or not there's a Welsh team in the event as to whether we then support that event.