High ranking politicians on both sides of the border are pursuing a joint North-South bid to host the opening three stages of the 2026 or 2027 Tour de France.
Ireland hosted the Le Grand Départ in 1998 - when it cost the Irish Government £2m at the time for the privilege - and today an expression of interest in a formal bid has been made to Tour organisers.
Minister for Sport Catherine Martin and Minister for the Economy Gordon Lyons MLA made the joint bid after meeting last week in Belfast and now officials in both departments will work together to compile a detailed bid to host the event.
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Minister Martin commented: “Hosting the world’s greatest cycle race would be an exciting opportunity for the island of Ireland.
"I was delighted to meet Minister Lyons again during my recent trip to Belfast and to agree to express a joint interest in hosting three full stages for Le Grand Départ of the Tour de France, ideally in 2026 or 2027.
"Our shared experience in hosting major sports events, our cooperative approach in marketing the entire island of Ireland as a tourism destination, and the wonderful scenery and céad míle fáilte that awaits visitors to Ireland could all combine to create an amazing all-island event.
"This collaborative process has my full support and I will engage with colleagues across Government on this in the coming weeks.”
Minister Lyons said: “Securing the opening stages of the Tour de France would be a fantastic opportunity for Northern Ireland to feature on the world stage and add to the growing list of major sporting events that have come here in recent years.
"People will fondly remember the success of the Giro d’Italia ‘Big Start’ in 2014, and I am confident that together we would be able to successfully host the Grand Depart.
"Major events such as this not only bring about huge economic benefits but give us a tremendous opportunity to showcase everything that is great about Northern Ireland.”
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