Scottish government to spend £9.25m on Tour de France 2027 start

The Scottish government has revealed an investment of up to £9.25m to cover costs of hosting the start of the men’s Tour de France 2027.

It comes after Edinburgh councillors agreed to set aside £1.7m of income from the city’s visitor levy to fund the opening stage, with the Scottish government covering any financial overruns.

The government said that as is standard for major events, it will publish a full breakdown of costs following the event.

Cyclists taking part in the 114th edition of the Tour de France will set off from Edinburgh and visit Wales and England before crossing the Channel.

Scotland has attempted to host a Tour de France grand depart for more than 15 years, narrowly losing out to Yorkshire in 2014.

The decision to bring the Tour to Edinburgh builds on a number of recent cycling events in Scotland, including the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships in 2023, which saw more than a million supporters over 11 days of action.

The 2027 event is expected to attract more than 1.27m spectators and generate more than £45.4m in economic impact for Edinburgh, based on comparable data from 2014.

Crowds at the roadside for the three English stages in 2014 were estimated at 4.8 million.

Tourism minister Richard Lochhead confirmed the £9.25m figure nine months after an official announcement that the first stage had been secured for the city.

“This funding will help Scotland realise the full potential of the social and economic benefits the Tour de France will bring to our country, as well as ensure that the event is delivered safely, securely and successfully,” he said in response to a question at Holyrood.

Mr Lochhead said the monies would also go towards improving health by increasing cycling participation and supporting the Scottish government’s wider active travel commitments.

He added: “Hosting the Grand Départ for the 2027 Tour de France will enhance Scotland’s already stellar reputation as an international events destination, and will allow us to further showcase our country on the world stage, with the event being broadcast in 190 countries, with around 150m viewers in Europe alone.”

The men’s and women’s Tour de France will both begin in Britain in 2027 – with details of the start location for the women’s event still to be announced.

The men’s version of the Tour – which was won this year by Slovenian Tadej Pogacar – has been partly staged in Britain four times before, in 1974, 1994, 2007 and 2014.

This will be the first time both men’s and women’s events have come to the same nation outside France in the same year.