The celebration was inevitable, they said (4)
I believe the answer is:
fete
'the celebration' is the definition.
(fete is a kind of celebration)
'inevitable they said' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'said' could be 't' (I've seen this in other clues) and 't' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'fee' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'was' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for fete that I've seen before include "(Honour with) festivities" , "Event held to raise money" , "Garden event" , "Outdoor fundraiser" , "Village event" .)