Tour Of Britain Set To Return To Wrexham – As First Stage Finish

Councillors are expected to rubber stamp the return of the Tour Of Britain to the town on Sunday 6 September 2015.

The Tour of Britain is Britain’s highest profile road cycle event. The Council has been involved for the past two years, as the race has travelled through the County Borough during the North Wales stage.

North Wales will host the first stage of the tour on Sunday 6 September 2015 when the stage, if agreed by Members, will finish in Wrexham. The proposed route is Beaumaris (starting at approximately 10am) Llanberis, Betwys y Coed, Ruthin, Denbigh, Mold and finishing in Wrexham (at approximately 3.30pm).

An economic boost expected for the town is expected with the 2014 event from Knowsley to Llandudno attracting around 110,000 visitors with a gross visitor spend in North Wales calculated of £3,395,702.

A budget of £40k is required to underwrite the cost of hosting the finish, and any not used will go forward to the town’s events programme in 2015/16.

If the Council does not agree to host the finish, it may be omitted from the route and the event could bypass the County Borough. If this is the case, the Council will still be expected to provide financial support for the event and whilst this amount is yet to be confirmed, it will be between £7.5K and £13K so the decision on Tuesday is a likely no-brainer.

If the North Wales stage finish is held in Wrexham it will require provision of a VIP
hospitality area, the technical requirements of the finish line, media section, provision for spectators and sponsors, public address and team support.

Wrexham Council said: “This is a spectacular event which will showcase the County Borough as a place to do business.

“2015 will be the third year that the event will be broadcast live on television. It will be seen by over 120 countries around the world with a reach of over 288 million homes.”

The report into the event presented to Councillors gives a break down of economic benefit of the past event as:

• 110,000 visitors attended the race stage
• gross visitor spend in North Wales was £3,395,702
• 93% of visitors came from outside the Knowsley and Llandudno areas
• 19% of visitors stayed overnight
• average spend per day by day visitors was £70.88
• average spend per day by overnight visitors was £123.52
• 44% brought their families with them
• net expenditure impact for North Wales was £2,465,697
• net GVA impact for North Wales was £1,274,765
• FTE employment impact for North Wales was 33.