The shortlist announcement left seven UK City of Culture 2017 contenders, including Dundee’s only Scottish rival Aberdeen, by the wayside.
The news was not a surprise though, with most commentators predicting it was unlikely both Dundee and Aberdeen would make the cut.
Nanette Milne, Scottish Conservative MSP for the North East, said: “Questions clearly need to be ask about what has let Aberdeen down.
“I am sadly not surprised that the woeful state of Aberdeen city centre has potentially not given a favourable impression for visitors to the city.
“The success of Dundee ahead of Aberdeen is clearly due to the significant and exciting projects taking place in Dundee as well as the city centre regeneration, which has impressed the judges.”
Eyebrows were raised when Portsmouth and Southampton, which are 20 miles apart, announced their intention to enter a “super bid”.
A similar long shot for the title was East Kent, which represented the five districts of Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Shepway and Thanet.
Another contender losing out was seaside town Southend on Sea, whose bid got off to the shakiest of starts when local MP David Amess branded some of the rival cities as “absolute dumps”.
One of the main surprises of Wednesday’s announcement was former bookie’s favourite Chester missing out on the final four.
The other contenders were Plymouth and Hastings/Bexhill on Sea.