It was widely believed the second official visit by Prince Charles to the republic was set to pave the way for Queen Elizabeth's first visit since partition.

BBC: Prince speaks of Irish 'suffering'

Work on the Queen Elizabeth's sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, is also under way at Govan.

BBC: Carrier section being moved

"It's a great event, it brings people together in a very unique and special way and it's the sort of event that we would certainly hope the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will stage one year or another in the future, " he said.

BBC: Olympic Stadium