Belfast has launched a bid to host the 2011 World Transplant Games which, if successful, could create tourism income worth £20 million and highlight the need for organ donations, according to Belfast City Council.
Belfast is competing with Copenhagen and Stockholm for the right to hold the biennial games, which attract 1,500 competitors, all of whom have had transplants, from 65 countries.
The council estimates that between athletes, their families and supporters, the games, which last nine days, would create 100,000 bed nights for the greater Belfast region.
Belfast lord mayor Jim Rodgers said Belfast was capable of staging the most successful and the friendliest games.
"Belfast has shown not just its ability to host successful international sporting events of any size, but to infuse them with a spirit of warmth and enthusiasm which springs from the unique qualities of its people."
The Northern Executive is supporting the bid. Minister for Sport Edwin Poots said the World Transplant Games not only demonstrated the skill of the athletes but also the benefits of successful organ transplants.
After the 2003 games in France, organ donations increased by 80 per cent.
The successful city will be announced next August.
