Twelfth: BBC will not resume live coverage

BBC Northern Ireland has confirmed it will not resume live television coverage of Belfast's Twelfth of July parade.

In a letter to the Orange Order it said the decision was taken "after careful consideration".

The station said the Belfast demonstration will still be covered in an hour-long programme featuring events at eight locations.

The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland has voiced its "immense disappointment".

In a statement, a spokesperson for the order said the decision was reached "without meaningful discussion or consultation".

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) have all criticised the decision.

Orange Order parades were cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Last year, the Orange Order decided to hold scaled-down parades in local areas.

This is not the first time that the BBC has stopped covering the Twelfth live.

In the late 1980s, the corporation decided against a live broadcast of the Belfast demonstration.

However, coverage then resumed shortly after and has been in place in the years since.

In 2019, the live coverage duration was one hour and 15 minutes and a highlights programme was 39 minutes long.

BBC representatives met senior Orangeman Mervyn Gibson and Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson on Thursday.

BBC Northern Ireland interim director Adam Smyth said the decision was taken for audience reasons and "not to diminish" the importance of 12 July to the unionist community.

"There are 80% more people available to watch the highlights programme in the evening than there are available to watch the live programme during the day," Mr Smyth said.

"But more than that, I think putting some of our resources into the highlights programme, allows us to get out of Belfast to see all of Northern Ireland, and to really capture the richness of the cultural event that it is beyond Belfast, where we've been focused for quite some time.

"We do understand how much value people put on the Twelfth and in no way are we seeking to deny any of that, but we're trying to shape our resources to maximise the audience benefit."

Mr Smyth added that audience behaviour was changing with more people switching to iPlayer to watch BBC coverage, rather than live television.

Tens of thousands of people attend parades on the Twelfth, which is held on 12 July every year to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.

King William III - the Dutch-born Protestant better known as William of Orange or King Billy - defeated the Catholic King James II in County Meath in July 1690.

On 12 July, marching bands from Orange lodges all over Northern Ireland parade through villages, towns and cities.

They then listen to speeches and prayers by senior Orangemen.

Parades are held in many towns in Northern Ireland throughout the summer but the biggest event in the calendar is 12 July.

Mr Smyth has also denied allegations that BBC Northern was biased against the unionist/loyalist community.

He said the station "acts in fairness and impartiality" with all outputs kept under review, not just the Twelfth parade.

Mervn Gibson, grand secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, said not only was the Orange Order disappointed, but so were people who usually watched the Twelfth programme live.

"There is a natural perception that the BBC is biased, rightly or wrongly.

"I think the BBC needed to read the room at this particular time, the faux pas' recently, the lack of coverage, the tricolour [Irish flag] appearing on one of the best programmes of the year for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

"In lieu of those mistakes recently people will be angry about this".

DUP MP Gregory Campbell said the decision to cut live coverage was "a clear signal" of the importance the BBC placed on the event.

"There is no real explanation as to why live coverage cannot happen alongside a later programme which always provided coverage from across Northern Ireland," Mr Campbell said.

"The ultimate measure is that there will be fewer minutes of programming this year dedicated to the single largest cultural event which takes place in Northern Ireland each year."

But political commentator Brian Feeney said it was the right decision.

"It is long overdue, it reflects the changing position of unionism in the north of Ireland, the diminishing role of the Orange Order - thank goodness," Mr Feeney said.

"The role of the Orange Order in the establishment of the north of Ireland has gone and its role in politics, and its role in society".

"Most unionists don't watch the Orange Order parade on 12 July."

UUP assembly member John Stewart, who is a member of the Orange Order, called for BBC management to reverse the decision.

"The Twelfth of July is one of the biggest events of the year in Northern Ireland which generates millions for the local economy," Mr Stewart said.

"Hundreds of thousands of people come out across the country to participate in and watch the Twelfth.

"The live coverage enables those who are unable to attend to see and feel part of the event on the day. There are those who are housebound, the elderly, the vulnerable and those who for one reason or another just can`t make it on the day."

TUV leader Jim Allister said the decision to remove the live coverage was "a slap in the face" for unionists, adding that it was "symptomatic of anti-unionist BBC culture".

"The Twelfth of July is our national holiday," Mr Allister said.

"It is one of the largest cultural events in Europe. BBC Northern Ireland should be looking it as an opportunity to showcase Northern Ireland's artistic and musical talent to the world."

DUP MP Ian Paisley said he would meet UK Secretary of State for Culture Nadine Dorries to raise concerns about the live coverage being removed.