Sinn Féin Councillor Conor Maskey has condemned parties in Belfast City Council for rejecting a Sinn Féin motion to support a Belfast bid for ‘Euro Pride 2023’.

Belfast Sinn Féin LGBTQ+ spokesperson said:

“This evening, Sinn Féin brought forward a proposal to Belfast City Council to give corporate support to a bid to bring ‘Euro Pride’ to Belfast in 2023.

“Unfortunately, the Greens, Alliance, SDLP and Unionists united to reject the motion and refused to give the backing of Belfast City Council to the ‘Euro Pride’ bid.

“Belfast Pride’s bid is to be considered this coming weekend and they have gone over and beyond to provide all relevant information to Belfast City Council as requested to garner Council support for the bid.

“There is absolutely no justification for parties not supporting this bid, and by rejecting this motion they have potentially denied Belfast the opportunity of hosting one of the largest and most significant events in the LGBTQ+ calendar across the globe.

“‘Euro Pride attracts hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators from across Europe and beyond.

“This was a prime opportunity to showcase the vibrancy of the LGBTQ+ community in Ireland and to give an enormous economic boost to the economy of our city.

“It is unfortunate that petty politics has denied our city this great opportunity.

“Sinn Féin will continue to work to do all that we can in Belfast City Council to support this bid and showcase the LGBTQ+ community and their contribution to our city.”