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07
Jul 2021
Race organisers 'not prepared' to cover Tour de Yorkshire losses
The company that owns the Tour de Yorkshire is “no longer prepared” to underwrite the event, according to a county council report.
A paper to be considered by North Yorkshire County Council’s executive on Tuesday next week says Amaury Sports Organisation, which is part of a French media group that owns and organises major sports events, would not cover the costs.
This has prompted the council to offer the tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire, which organises the Tour de Yorkshire in conjunction with Amaury Sports Organisation, up to £200,000 to stage the race.
Welcome to Yorkshire's strategy to fund the elite international cycling event in May next year has emerged as it was revealed Yorkshire taxpayers are being asked to underwrite the event by up to £900,000.
Welcome to Yorkshire has requested funding from numerous local authorities which are host towns for the race in case it fails to get sponsorship.
Harrogate Borough Council is not one of them but Harrogate district people will still fund the event through the portion of their council tax payments that goes to North Yorkshire County Council.
Senior county councillors have been recommended to approve a payment of £100,000 to fund the event and to set aside a further £100,000 to underwrite any failure to secure sponsorship.
Read more:
- Local taxpayers may contribute to further Tour de Yorkshire funding
- County council to offer £200,000 to fund Tour de Yorkshire
- 2021 Tour de Yorkshire cancelled
Asked to comment about whether Amaury Sports Organisation should underwrite the event as it stood to make profits, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
He said:
Meanwhile, plans to overhaul the Tour de Yorkshire’s image by aligning the event with prevalent societal values, such as equality, diversity, mental health and sustainability, have received a mixed reaction.
Welcome to Yorkshire said that, following a very difficult two years for all involved, the race needed to be seen as a genuine celebration of Yorkshire as opposed to just a bike race.
This will mean a much longer lead into the race featuring events celebrating Yorkshire’s culture, heritage, arts, crafts, food and drink with the race being the headline act of “nine months of activation”.
Nevertheless, the sponsorship strategy of highlighting the event’s values, such as equality has already been questioned, with some critics highlighting how the event features a two-day race for women and a higher profile four-day race for men.
The unveiling of the proposals, which include aligning the Tour de Yorkshire with the value of diversity, comes just a week after Nic Diamini made headlines by becoming the first black South African to ride in the Tour de France, the pinnacle of what has been dubbed “the world’s whitest sport”.
Cllr Les, who is also a Welcome to Yorkshire board member, said the fresh approach to sponsorship along social value lines was “a very sound idea”.
However, councillor Stuart Parsons, leader of the authority’s Independent group, said staging a two-day women’s race and a four-day men’s event would “not promote equality in any way, shape or form”.
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