LONDON (Dispatches) - The UK is to bid to host the 2026 Tour de France Grand Depart.
The government has also confirmed funding for the English Rugby Football Union’s bid to host the 2025 World Cup, as the RFU plans to stage the “best-attended women’s Rugby World Cup ever”.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will this week announce £30mn funding to back both bids.
“I’m excited at the prospect of bringing more world-class sporting events to the UK,” Sunak said.
The chancellor is expected to announce the bids on Wednesday, in a move he says is intended to boost British sport and enhance investment across the UK.
“That’s why I’m backing these bids,” he added. “Our bids will include events taking place across the country and I’m hopeful everyone will get a chance to cheer on their sporting heroes.”
The last Grand Depart in the UK was in Leeds in 2014, followed by stages finishing in Sheffield and London. The UK’s first Grand Depart was in London in 2007.
The Grand Depart usually alternates between cities in France and cities in other countries, with the first two to four stages taking place in that country before the race moves to France.