GB News has announced that it will broadcast the twelfth festivities live in Northern Ireland.
oming shortly after BBC NI faced a reaction to confirm that it would replace live coverage with edited highlights, GB News also confirmed that former DUP leader Dam Arlene Foster would be leading the coverage.
In a statement, GB News said it would broadcast live from the parades after “the BBC’s controversial decision at the last minute to suspend its live broadcast”.
Before commenting on the event, Lady Arlene Foster said she was “incredibly proud of GB News for stepping up to fill the void left by the national broadcaster”.
She added: “One of the reasons I joined GB News was to bring a better understanding of the life and culture of Northern Ireland to a wider audience in the UK. GB News means including all regional voices, and the Orange Parades are at the heart of our voice in Northern Ireland.
The report will focus on the largest of the Orange Parades in Armagh, with Northern Ireland correspondent Douglas Beatty “explaining the patriotism, entertainment and color of the processions”.
Mr Beattie said: “The BBC has a lot of resources, so it’s a challenge to set up this show in such a short time, but it makes it even more exciting. And as we proved with the platinum anniversary of the Queen, you don’t have to be the biggest cameraman to win the hearts of the viewers.
Responding to the BBC’s new coverage plans, he said: “Edited highlights are never the same – you really need live coverage to capture the immediacy, passion and emotion of Orange Parades, so we’ll provide that.”
Unionists and members of the Orange Order were quick to welcome the development.
Orangeman senior Edward Stevenson said he was delighted with the news. “Live broadcasting from the Twelfth is very important for so many people, especially those who cannot attend parades for a number of reasons,” he said. “We were overwhelmed by calls, many of them from older people who were worried that they would miss this year’s parades. So I have no doubt that this announcement will come as a huge boost.”
The Grand Secretary of the Orange Order, Rev. Mervyn Gibson, told the BBC Evening Extra that the organization had worked with GB News to plan the coverage.
He said he understood that the coverage would last about an hour and focus on Arma.
Although he was angry with the BBC, he said Orange Order would continue to co-operate in recording material for the edited highlights.
Diane Dodds of the Upper Bann MLA of the DUP said she praised the UK news following the BBC’s “outrageous” decision and said it indicated that the TV operator was not in contact with local audiences.
“This contrasts with the GB News decision, which obviously seeks to reach the unique mix of identities that make up our great United Kingdom.”
TUV spokesman for Newry and Arma, Keith Ratcliffe, said his party first proposed the idea to GB News itself.
“I am absolutely pleased that the channel intervened and for the first time offered audiences in the UK the opportunity to experience the color, spectacle and sound of Twelfth live in the comfort of their own homes,” he said.
He also said this raised questions about the BBC’s license fee.
“If a relatively new, non-state-funded television operator can find the resources to cover the twelfth live, what can we justify with the BBC for not being able to do so due to financial pressure?”
Last week, a BBC spokesman told NI that the significance of the twelfth celebrations would be properly acknowledged.
“We know that the Orange tradition is important to many people and that it is part of the wider diversity of local society … this is something we will want to describe and explain as part of our coverage of 12 July – and more generally ”
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