Newsroom

Post- event Tour of Britain column

It was an incredible day and showed once again that our county has what it takes to host an international sporting event of this scale.

 

The hours of live TV coverage for the Tour of Britain has given viewers across the UK and the world a window into what Nottinghamshire has to offer as a tourist destination.

Organisers were quick to praise our stage as having the best local engagement as well as the most displays of land art for the whole Tour.
Nottinghamshire excelled. Final attendance are still to be confirmed, but it is estimated around 200,000 people turned out to watch the race with a thrilling finale in Mansfield.

The support, goodwill and enthusiasm of local residents, businesses and schools was phenomenal.
Our flag design winner, Sam Radburn, 6 proudly waved the riders off in West Bridgford with the starting flag he designed.
While Eva Smith, 8, also had the time of her life presenting the worthy stage winner, Ian Stannard, with the trophy she designed, in front of the local crowds and a worldwide TV audience.

There was a marvellous atmosphere throughout the day. I had the chance to watch the race at a number of venues along the route - as well as at the start and finish - including cheering the riders as they zoomed by the new Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre.
I want to thank everyone for all the hours of hard work and imagination that went into creating the miles of bunting, countless flags, yellow bikes galore and all the creative displays of land art along the longest stage of the whole race.
We will now be looking carefully at the TV coverage and photos from the day to decide the winners of our own best dressed town and village competition.

I was also particularly proud to see spectators stand out in true Nottinghamshire style in a sea of green, as the County Council provided thousands of Robin Hood hats along the route.

Riders joined in the Robin Hood spirit too, most notably the overall race winner Julian Alaphilppe, as a photo of him wearing one of our hats was one of the day’s most iconic images after going viral on social media.

So despite the weather, Nottinghamshire really shined and put on a truly memorable event.

Councillor Kay Cutts, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council