A new cross-Border initiative to persuade teams competing in the 2012 London Olympic Games to chose the Louth and Newry and Mourne region for their pre-games training camps is gaining momentum.
"Oriel 2012" is a project of Border Vision and was created as a vehicle to secure some of the economic, social, tourist, educational and sporting benefits from the successful bid by London for the games.
According to Border Vision, the Olympic build programmes are estimated to be worth over £7 billion over the next five years.
It has already made a formal application to be considered in the guide book on training camp locations that will be distributed to competing countries at the Beijing Olympics next year.
However the project is not waiting until next January to see if it has been successful as countries can approach other counties even if they are not included in the guidebook and this is what Oriel 2012 are planning to do.
"All the applications to be included in the guidebook are being assessed at the moment but we will be making contact ourselves with various clubs in America, Australia and all over the world," said Anne Marie O'Kane of Border Vision which is based in Newry, Co Down.
The group is highlighting a number of attractions such as the Newry canal which it says offers rowing teams a world class venue with 3km of perfect undisturbed water unparalleled in Ireland.
Carlingford Lough and Ravensdale equestrian centre are also being promoted and in a presentation to Louth County Council this month Paul McCormack said the proximity of the region to Dublin and Belfast airports as well as having the same time zone and climate as London were positive factors.
"It is our belief that the resultant benefits from the London 2012 Olympic Games will be multifaceted and will integrate across the sporting, economic and community development sectors, delivering long-term experiences, advantages and sustainable development opportunities to the region," he added.