Wed, December 17, 2025
Scottish Government commits up to £9.25 million to 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ
The Scottish government will pay up to £9.25 million to host the start of the men’s Tour de France on Saturday 3 July 2027. Competitors will depart from Edinburgh, with the first three stages covering Scotland, England and Wales, before reaching France in a historic multi-nation start.
Edinburgh councillors agreed to set aside £1.7 million worth of income from the city’s visitor levy, a small charge added to accommodation costs for tourists which is reinvested locally, to host the start, and the Scottish government agreed to cover overruns.
According to The Herald, the “total estimated event cost” was originally £3.3 million, but this has now ballooned as council planning “did not follow best practice” and did not inform councillors of the necessary preparations. Scotland has desired to host the start for over 15 years, and a breakdown of spending will be published after the event takes place.
When Yorkshire hosted the Grand Départ in 2014, the event was budgeted at £26.5 million. Local councils contributed £10.6 million, with a further £9.9 million funded by central government and £6 million from Transport for London (TfL), as reported by Road.CC. The Grand Départ in London in 2007 cost £7.5 million, funded mainly by the TfL and the London Development Agency, a previous office of the mayor.
Over 1.27 million spectators are expected to attend the 2027 event. When Scotland hosted the UCI Cycling World Championships in 2023, more than 1 million supporters over 11 days were present.
During the Grand Départ - Leeds to Harrogate, York to Sheffield and Cambridge to London - which occurred when Yorkshire hosted the Tour, 4.8 million spectators were present on the roadside.
Edinburgh is expected to accumulate £45.4 million from the event, according to BBC Sport. The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships reportedly cost at least £63 million. However, it also reportedly generated £205 million in gross revenue, including £129 million in the city itself.
Richard Lochhead, Minister for Business of Scotland, expressed the following in relation to the £9.25 million: “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…
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.”
Lochhead also added that part of that funding would be put “into a Scotland-specific social impact programme, which will seek to improve health by increasing cycling participation, supporting the Scottish Government’s wider active travel commitments, driving community cohesion and supporting economic growth.”
The women’s Tour de France will also begin in Britain in 2027, but the exact location is yet to be revealed. This is the first time both events have been hosted by the same nation, outside France, in the same year.
