City prepares to spend nearly £900,000 on Tour de France event

York City Council is set to spend £873,000 on the delivery of the famous event which will start in the city on Sunday July 6 next year.

The race will start in York before heading west across the region through Knaresborough, Haworth, Huddersfield and then heading south to finish in Sheffield. It will then move on to London before progressing to France.

A report to York City Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday October 1 highlights the role of the city in hosting the largest annual sporting event in the world.

Councillor Sonja Crisp, cabinet member for leisure, culture and tourism said: “The Tour de France is one of the world’s top global sporting events attracting a TV audience of over 3.5 billion people.

“When the Grand Départ came to London in 2007, the economic benefit from hosting this major event was estimated to be £88m and a further £35m worth of media coverage to London and surrounding region. Working with our city partners and our own expert officers, we have a proven track record of staging high-quality, large-scale events which involve and delight local people and reach international TV audiences.

“While this will be a huge boost to the city’s leisure and tourism industries, it is also a complex and challenging event to deliver, with an estimated additional 180,000 people coming into the city for our leg of the Tour.

“The event is now less than a year away and our focus is very much on the delivery of the York element, ensuring we have the necessary investment to be able to maximise the benefits for the city.”

Event organisers ASO will visit the city in early October to finalise the route and race start arrangements.

The total projected cost of staging the event for York is £1.6m. Councillors in the city approved the use of £500,000 from an Economic Infrastructure Fund in February and the Government is providing £291,000 toward the cost of event in York.

The council report highlight’s York’s role in taking the lead for the region on a legacy programme to help improve Yorkshire’s health, environment and economy through the promotion and increased use of cycling.

Coun David Merrett, cabinet member for transport, planning and sustainability said: “As one of the UK’s top cycling cities we are in prime position to lead the legacy work for Yorkshire, to build on this once in a lifetime opportunity to raise the profile of cycling in the region and ensure everyone has access to cycling as a safe, effective, cheap, healthy and enjoyable activity for commuting and leisure. The collective commitment to a cycling legacy for Yorkshire will secure strategic infrastructure and across the region.”