Today's Grand Depart of the 2014 Tour de France from Leeds has been an interesting personal experience, but before getting to grips with why, consider the following:
On Saturday 5 July 2014 the Tour de France is very much in the face of every single UK citizen who happened to pick up a paper, turn on the TV, or switch on a radio, or digital device. It has been inescapable. Evan Davies featured the race in his series "Mind the Gap" about the North-South divide. The Royal Family are in attendance. Both Radio 4 (Evan Davies again) and radio 5 were broadcasting live from the event, and so far we have not even covered the sports media. This is international global media gone mad. The story of the Yorkshire Tour, has completely and absolutely over shadowed the World Cup, the British Grand Prix, and Women's tennis Final at Wimbledon.
So what has this got to do with Liverpool ??????????
Well On 3 November 2003 I wrote a feasibility paper to try to persuade Liverpool’s new Culture Company to bring the 2008 Tour to Liverpool. I still have the paper and I publish an edited version of it below. Unfortunately the idea got nowhere.
In 2003 it was easy to foresee the potential economic benefits of this project and the competition to overcome to try to land it. And we had five years to make a plan. It was possible to count the cost and weigh the benefits, but it was totally impossible to gauge the craving that we Brits have since developed for participating in, creating, and attracting, global “super events”. This is a UK cultural phenomenon which seems to have no limits.
The UK sporting (and cultural) public is seemingly on a different level to the rest of the world, whether supporting events at home, or travelling the globe to support our footballers, rugby players, cricketers, superbike riders, athletes, and so on. Others travel for cultural experiences. Us Brits are adventurous, curious, and open minded. We also get our wallets out. This phenomenon helps drives our events media, and plays a big part global event sponsorship and marketing. It also helps project the UK as an increasingly important market place for big cultural and sporting events at a time when the rationale of global events is being tested all across the world. Issues raised include corruption, nepotism, opaqueness, financial mismanagement, sovereign resource deficiencies, limited local support, impoverished economies beyond such events, poor project skills, and general mediocrity.
Interestingly many international events depend upon UK expertise and provides valuable income to architects, project managers, financial firms, construction companies and transport experts. The events industry seems one we excel in at a range of different levels
Closer to home, the London delivered a fantastic 2012 Olympics and continues to create envy with modern events like Glastonbury, "T in the Park", the Edinburgh Festival, as well as traditional ones like Glyndebourne, Henley, Wimbledon, the grand National, Open Golf. All of these are modernising and changing as a recognition of these broader social trends. And if you don't believe me, try getting a ticket. To be fair Liverpool is already on this with its Grand national. The Biennale is also an important cultural event. In 2008 it was massive, but seems less big these days, no dout because of its dependency on funds. But Liverpool should make a greater play to add to the list, and seek to explore even more opportunities given the financial benefits described and the potential for cultural and social gains. But it wont get there with trade exhibitions, park level festivals, and borrowing French puppets for the day.
It is crass to measure culture in cash terms, but events like the Tour bring huge benefits and having followed today’s Tour media coverage on ITV, Sky Sports, Radio 4, and Radio, 5 the coverage has been massive. The benefits to Yorkshire as a “get up and go” place are there for all to see, and presumably it presents Yorkshire, in the worlds eyes, as a place to do business with. It is also dangerous to "risk all for other peoples events." But from time to time a Tour de France, or some other such "one-off" event will not hurt and may even give confidence to Liverpool to create its own ideas and thus exercise its own peoples creative talents.
At the same time I have seen nothing in today’s media about last night launch of the Liverpool Biennial or the ongoing International Festival of Business. I am on the board of the Liverpool Independents Biennial and somewhat obsessive about local economics. So I am not knocking these events, but the Tour is on a completely different scale. However, I do ask this; where is the front page coverage of our own local events?
I would still take Liverpool over Yorkshire any day, but it is a shame Liverpool did not have the foresight to go for the tour in 2008, when it had been legitimately chosen to be the European Capital of Culture. This was its greatest (and possibly only) chance to do this, and it seemed to present an opportunity to project the "new" Liverpool all around the world. It would also help those areas around the city centre that make up its natural and historic hinterland. Not just obvious places like Wirral, Sefton, and Knowsley, but nearby North Wales, the Liverpool Bay, and Lancashire. What a story we could have told, through place, people and pastimes.
I was privileged to be paid to help develop ideas like the Tour paper, and those who know me are aware of many, many, others. In fact I was invited to be a Liverpool representative on the NWDA/NWRA Outdoor Tourism Strategy Group, due to such thinking. That said, I was not alone in envisioning ideas. I met many local people with ideas just as good, if not better, than any I had. A good friend once said to me, and I quote "Liverpool shits ideas." But I would add that it also flushes them away. It also allows other places to take forward ideas that Liverpool rejected or could not see
A few years ago, Liverpool seemed obsessed by importing "The Bilbao Effect" and "Barcelona Effect." I never once bought into this. I call this type of strategy "Cultural Disneyfication." My own view, for what it's worth, is that we should be exporting the "Liverpool effect". These days I am trying to make a modest career from turning other similar ideas into wealth but its not easy without civic support, and some civic bodies are not prepared to believe,let alone help.
Two more things; last year on a small boat in Turkey I overheard a proud Yorkshireman tell a Swedish man how proud he was of the tour coming to his home county. I could barely keep my mouth shut. I did, but it bought tears of absolute frustration to my eyes. And as for the 2014 Tour, the Cambridge stage goes right past my mother-in-laws front door. Of all the roads in all the world....... In a past life, I lived in Hertfordshire and regularly cycled the same roads. So to me; the selfless-envisioner, I find this coincidence a bitter, bitter, irony.
Having said this; my main thought on this hot, sunny, tour less (from a Liverpool perspective), afternoon is this; If only, if only, if only, if only…..........................
Here is an edit of my 2003 paper. All local names and organisations are removed
Consideration of Liverpool as host city for the 2008 Tour de France
Colin Dyas - 3 November 2003
With 2008 being European Capital of Culture year might it be a good idea to consider the possibility of initiating the 2008 Tour De France from the city. The event is usually held in late June to mid July over a 22-day period of stage races.
It is not unprecedented for stages of the tour to be held in the UK. The most recent was in 1994 when two stages (Stage 4 Dover to Brighton, and Stage 5 Portsmouth to Portsmouth) were held. A previous stage was also held on the South Coast in the 1970’s. More recently in 1998, Ireland held several stages. Dublin hosted the opening prologue with two further stages (Stage 1; Dublin – Dublin, and Stage 2; Enniscothy – Cork) being held on open roads. The tour frequently visits countries outside France and does so with a view to broadening the appeal of the race.
The prologue is a short sprint against the clock held in an urban setting, while those stages shown as starting and ending in the same place generally involve the place as a focus to a days racing undertaken in the general surrounds.
By 2008 the tour will be overdue a UK return and what better reason could there be to initiate it in Europe’s Capital of Culture? But is there other UK competition, and what are the likely costs and benefits?
I understand from press reports that Scotland may lobby to hold stages in 2006, 2008, or 2010. Considering the race has never been there before it must have a chance. London is also offering a serious 2006 bid via transport for London. The hope is to host the opening Prologue and two further stages. While the year does not coincide with Capital of Culture, if they are successful there may be an issue with the tour visiting the UK twice over a two year time period.
The London bid estimates hosting costs for the opening stage of circa £1 million, but see in the event, a massive attraction to visitors and business. In 1994 it is estimated some three million people watched two days of racing, while London estimates two million extra people would visit the city around the proposed week of the tour.
The tour attracts massive global publicity, hence the arrangement fees, but unlike say the football World Cup or Olympic Games, the infrastructure costs are minimal as racing takes place on existing roads. There is a need to erect barriers, but tour contractors generally mange this directly. Some road calming features may also require a safety assessment, i.e. mini roundabouts, speed humps etc, but these do not necessarily require removal.
A Liverpool prologue could showcase a city centre that already has a history and experience of hosting similar though smaller scale events. The route could incorporate any number of landmark streets or buildings i.e. the new 4th Grace, the twin Cathedrals, the waterfront etc. The mobile motorcycle and high level helicopter coverage will offer a superb opportunity to show off the city landmarks, while the event would seem a perfect fit with Capital of Culture.
Attendances on each race day are likely to be massive and add a big boost to the local service sectors. The visualisation of Liverpool through global media coverage could also have massive future benefits in attracting visitors to the city, long after the tour has gone.
It might also be possible to share the race benefits locally by holding or taking a stage to Wirral, which for many years has been a centre of UK cycling. The organisers would like the fact that Chris Boardman and UK tour commentator Phil Ligget have links to the area. The race could also visit North Wales, East or North Lancashire.
If this idea is not already under consideration then it might at first be useful to initiate a simple feasibility assessment, and make an informal approach to the official tour organisers to discuss ideas and process. Subsequent analysis by S.W.O.T, risk assessments, cost benefits etc can then be considered.
The Tour de France is organized by Amaury Sport Organisation.
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