I dunno, the Wikipedia pages for Paris and Sophia (Sofias are listed there) don't seem to be hugely disproportionate in their lists... lot of male Parises and fictional Sofias though.
By the time I remembered "Bay of Biscay", I only had 0:01 left. One full second of unadulterated forlorn resignation. So close to perfection, yet so far. :-(
The Northern Ireland clue should be changed. It is only Derry in the Republic of Ireland and to Republicans/nationalists in Northern Ireland. The answer is the official name and it is located in a county of the same name in the United Kingdom so it should be the other way around
Belgorod has a greater population than Belfast (by city proper), so what exactly counts as a 'major' city? It's true that Belfast would be more well known than Belgorod, but perhaps it would be better if Belgorod was accepted as a type-in for Belfast?
Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, so maybe that's what makes it more major? Or maybe because it's been such a part of the history with the Troubles. Or maybe the Quizmaster is a huge fan of Titanic, since that's where it was built.
Literally - "You keep using that word - I do not think it mean what you think it means." https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-continent-is-cyprus-in.html