Tour de France Creates £100m Boost For Yorkshire

This year’s Grand Départ of the Tour de France, held here in Yorkshire, generated over £100 million for the region, a report has revealed.

An official review of the event also found it attracted roadside crowds of 4.8 million.

The report, called ‘Three Inspirational Days’, looks at the economic and social impact of hosting the world’s largest annual sporting event.

It began on Saturday 5 July in Leeds with the first of a two-day Grand Départ in Yorkshire, followed by a third stage in Cambridgeshire, Essex and London.

The event earned worldwide admiration for its success, with Tour director Christian Prudhomme describing it as “the grandest Grand Départ” in the 111-year history of the race.

Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire Gary Verity said: “There are benefits for the county which are impossible to measure.

“The profile of Yorkshire around the world has never been higher and this will have a lasting impact on visitor numbers and businesses for years and years to come."

The report, led by Leeds City Council and supported by UK Sport, Welcome to Yorkshire, Transport for London and TdFHUB2014 Ltd, examines the impact of the event as well as its lasting legacy.

Using surveys carried out before, during and after the race, the report reveals the Tour generated more than £128 million of economic benefit overall, with £102 million for Yorkshire.

The overall figure is expected to rise in the coming years to over £150 million, as a result of increased tourism and long-term trade deals secured at the Yorkshire Grand Départ International Business Festival held around the event.

Over the course of the three days, the race was watched in person by approximately a quarter of the population in the entire Yorkshire and Humber region.

The event attracted 113,000 visitors from outside the UK, boosting the UK economy by £33 million.

Another 18.6 million people followed the race on TV, and 92 percent of spectators who watched the Yorkshire stages felt the Tour was positive for the region.

The official website letouryorkshire.com received two million visits during the week of the Tour starting, with over eight million page views.

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Keith Wakefield said: “Hosting the start of the Tour de France elevated Leeds and Yorkshire to a platform it has never been on before.

“The key to its success was the way the public supported the event in such numbers and with such passion. They made it a truly remarkable weekend that no one who saw it will ever forget.”

Minister for Sport and Tourism Helen Grant said:“It was fantastic to see such huge crowds supporting the race in Yorkshire, Cambridge, Essex and London. It showed the passion Britain has for cycling and will have inspired many to take up the sport as well as giving a significant economic boost to the host regions.”

The legacy from the Tour is already being felt, with nearly half of the spectators living outside Yorkshire returning there in the three months after.

Since the Tour, an estimated 30 per cent of spectators have increased their own levels of cycling, which equates to up to one million people cycling more. Nearly three quarters of spectators aged 16-24 said they felt inspired to get more active by watching the race.

• “The three UK stages set a new standard not just in terms of the amazing support but also because it inspired so many people, young and old, to get on their bikes,”* says President of British Cycling Bob Howden.

In terms of business approval, 58 per cent of businesses surveyed in Yorkshire agreed that the Tour was the sort of event local authorities should be looking to host more of.