The island of Ireland is making a cross-border bid to host the opening stages of a future Tour de France.
If successful it would be the second time the world’s most famous cycling contest had its Grand Départ in Ireland.
Minister for Tourism and Sport Catherine Martin and Northern Ireland Minister for the Economy Gordon Lyons have submitted an expression of interest in the formal bidding process to the Tour organisers.
Hosting the world’s greatest cycle race would be an exciting opportunity for the island of Ireland
— Catherine Martin
Officials on both sides of the Border are now due to collaborate on the development of a detailed bid to host the event, ideally in either 2026 or 2027.
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Ms Martin and Mr Lyons believe a successful bid would have significant tourism, sports and wider benefits for the island of Ireland.
Ireland last hosted the start of the Tour de France in 1998 when the race began in Dublin. More recently in 2014 part of the Giro d’Italia took place largely in Northern Ireland with the third stage finishing in Dublin.
Of the joint Tour de France bid, Ms Martin said: “Hosting the world’s greatest cycle race would be an exciting opportunity for the island of Ireland.”
She added: “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.”
Mr Lyons, a DUP MLA, 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 Départ.”
Mr Lyons also said: “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.”
Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers said: “I believe there is huge untapped potential for the island of Ireland to host major events” and he believes hosting the opening stage of the Tour “has the potential to bring benefits to communities across our Shared Island”.
