Arts festival to celebrate Tour de France nets £10m for Yorkshire's economy

The arts festival in Yorkshire to mark the start of the Tour de France in 2014 generated almost £10m for the county’s economy, according to an independent report.

The report by marketing firm &Co said the event attracted more than 800,000 visitors in the 100 days that it ran, starting in March.

The festival included neon-lit cyclists riding in a ‘Ghost Peloton’, as seen in the video above, with over 18,000 people performing or participating in the festival overall.

Welcome to Yorkshire, who organised the £2m festival, now plan to host a festival every two years from 2016.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Yorkshire Festival shone a spotlight on Yorkshire, creating an exceptional summer for people in readiness for the grandest ever Grand Départ.

“The success of the festival shows the exceptional artistic talent we have in this county and what we have to offer the world.”

Source: BBC

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