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The first stage of
theTour de
France proved to be a Tour de Force for Kent when it
 passed through the county in July
2007.
Two million people turned out to line the streets and cheer on
the riders, which was the best possible result for the
behind-the-scenes team who spent more than a year preparing for the
big day.
In glorious sunshine, Kent looked great, as aerial pictures of
packed Wealden villages and the colourful throng of spectators at
Canterbury's thrilling finish, were beamed to a world-wide TV
audience.The payoff for Kent was also significant. Independent
research later showed that Kent received an economic boost of
£15million from the organisers and those attending.
KCC Tour de France project co-ordinator Amanda Lumley said:
"This is a great result for Kent as the study shows more than
£15million of direct spend was brought to the local economy."
Kent County Council is confident that the priceless value of
showcasing Kent on national and international television will be
seen in years to come when more visitors choose Kent as their
holiday destination.
This could not have happened without the dedicated work of a
team of over 4,000 people including staff from
Kent Highway Services who managed the traffic and crowds along
the route, in co-operation with Kent Police and other districtand
borough councils.
Kent Highways Services had a mammoth task of arranging the
closure of more than 150 miles of Kent's roads and about 1,300
junctions to enable Le Tour to pass through safely. Roads which Le
Tour used had to be prepared with safety barriers, cones and hay
bales. Kent Highway Services took on extra staff in the Contact
Centre, who dealt with more than 7,500 calls over the weekend, 87
per cent of which were dealt with directly.
While the French organisers said it was one of the best stages
in the race's history, for the people of Kent and the many
visitors, it was a great day out. For the Kent economy, it was a
welcome boost! |