Opening ceremony plans revealed for Yorkshire's UCI Road World Cycling Championships 2019

The opening ceremony of the UCI Road World Championships 2019 will take place in the Harrogate Fan Zone, hosts Yorkshire 2019 have confirmed.
By Abbey Maclure
Published 14th Sep 2019, 07:00 BST
Elizabeth Armitstead, left, of Great Britain, passes Anna Van Der Breggen, right, of the Netherlands and Megan Guarnier, center, of the United States to the line to win the Women's Elite road circuit cycling race at the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)Elizabeth Armitstead, left, of Great Britain, passes Anna Van Der Breggen, right, of the Netherlands and Megan Guarnier, center, of the United States to the line to win the Women's Elite road circuit cycling race at the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Elizabeth Armitstead, left, of Great Britain, passes Anna Van Der Breggen, right, of the Netherlands and Megan Guarnier, center, of the United States to the line to win the Women's Elite road circuit cycling race at the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

The ceremony will start on Saturday, September 21 at 5pm and last for around 45 minutes, onstage in the fan zone which is located on The Stray for the duration of the Championships.

UCI President David Lappartient will fly in from Switzerland to declare the Championships officially open along with Yorkshire 2019 CEO Andy Hindley and British Cycling CEO Julie Harrington.

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-> Jarvis Cocker, The Pigeon Detectives and The Feeling to perform at UCI Road World Championships in HarrogateThere will also be a host of bands and entertainment at the ceremony.

The Skelmanthorpe Brass Band and Harrogate Theatre Choir will both perform during the ceremony itself followed by two further live performances.

Leeds-based band Hyde Park Brass will take the stage at 6pm and treat fans to some classic pop hits with a twist, with The Motown Sparklettes following them at 7pm.

Yorkshire 2019 CEO Andy Hindley said: “Hosting the UCI Road World Championships is a once-in-a-generation event so we felt it only fitting that we had an opening ceremony.

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"We’re thrilled to have the UCI President David Lappartient in attendance to officially get things going and have laid on some great entertainment which will add to the party atmosphere.

“Of course, the racing will have already got going earlier that day with the Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International, so it’s much a celebration of that as well as the start of the Championships proper.”

The Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International takes place on Saturday 21 September and is the first para-cycling event to have ever been organised alongside the UCI Road World Championships.

It will be one of the highest-profile para-cycling competitions ever held and includes 26 races in total, with men’s and women’s contests taking place across all four para-cycling classifications.

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Setting off from Beverley, Tadcaster and Wetherby, all races will finish in Harrogate and the results will count towards qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

-> Why Harrogate wants no more cycling after UCI World Championships – Yorkshire Post letters

Related topics:YorkshireJarvis Cocker