Plans to bring the Tour de France to Ireland for three stages in coming years are edging forward, with a delegate of officials from the Republic and Northern Ireland set to meet Amaury Sport Organisation, which owns the race.
The Irish and Northern Irish delegation wants to assess what ASO requires in order to secure the Grand Départ on the island of Ireland, probably in 2026 or 2027. The event would come to the Island of Ireland for the first three stages, which would also mean many of the teams being here for several days before racing kicked off.
The initial estimated cost of hosting the Tour de France in Ireland is up to €30 million but that was provisional and may climb higher as plans evolve, including the full logistical challenges of getting the race to and from Ireland and the race route.
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Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin (TD) has now said plans have continued to progress since news of the Irish Tour bid first emerged, out of the blue, last month.
"My officials have engaged with counterparts in Northern Ireland on the establishment of a project group to scope out the details of a bid and the first meeting of this group will take place later this month," she said. "A meeting has also been scheduled with the Tour organisers to outline our shared interest in making a bid and also to fully understand what the Tour looks for in a successful Grand Départ.
"We promote the entire island of Ireland as a tourism destination via Tourism Ireland, a key North-South agency, and we believe that the television and other media audiences that the Tour attracts would provide a great opportunity to show off the incredible scenery, history and visitor attractions that we have throughout the island," Martin said.
"We have also discussed the cross-border benefits of positive collaboration between our respective teams, and the wider community, on such an exciting project. We agreed that an all-Ireland bid could tell a powerful story and show our shared island in a really positive light. This is the context to the joint letter of interest which my office issued last month to ASO, the Tour de France organisers, and we are now following up on this interest."
