The Tour de France is unique, too, in that every one of its editions has been different. While certain dramatic climbs (Alpe d\u2019Huez, Mont Ventoux and Col du Tourmalet) are on regular rotation, and the finish on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es was a staple between 1975 and 2023, the route changes every year.<\/p>
But where each stage starts or concludes isn\u2019t solely down to the whims of the race\u2019s route planner. In fact, becoming a host venue can take years of planning and preparation, while there is a substantial cost involved for each location\u2019s 15 minutes of fame.<\/p>
Who owns the Tour de France?<\/h2>The Tour de France is organised by A.S.O., which has owned at least 50 per cent of the race’s rights since the 1940s. – Michael Steele \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>Before delving into what\u2019s charged to have the Tour de France<\/a> come to town, it\u2019s worth considering\u00a0who owns the race \u2013 and is therefore profiting from these hosting fees.<\/p>The Tour de France is organised each year by Amaury Sports Organisation (A.S.O.), an independent business that is a subsidiary of Groupe Amaury, the family-run media empire headed by Marie-Odile Amaury, the widow of Philippe Amaury, and her two children, Jean-Etienne and Aurore.<\/p>
A.S.O., and by extension Groupe Amaury, has owned at least 50 per cent of the race\u2019s rights since Philippe Amaury\u2019s father, \u00c9milien, acquired them in 1944 when assisting the then race director Jacques Goddet to start the sports newspaper L\u2019Equipe <\/em>in post-World War II Paris.\u00a0<\/p>\u00c9milien and A.S.O. eventually secured 100 per cent of Le Tour\u2019s rights when he bought L\u2019Equipe <\/em>in 1965. While A.S.O. also owns the rights to other events such as the Dakar Rally and cycling races including Paris-Nice and Paris-Roubaix, the Tour remains the jewel in its crown.<\/p>![\"French](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1244040399.jpg\")
A.S.O. is a subsidiary of Groupe Amaury, headed by Marie-Odile Amaury (right). – Franck Fife \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\u201cThe Tour de France is by far the biggest in terms of the value,\u201d says Alex Duff, author of Le Fric: Family, Power and Money: The Business of the Tour de France<\/em>. He adds that it\u2019s possible to see from accounts that the family have consistently paid themselves \u20ac20 million in dividends each year for the last 10-20 years, and \u201cit’s fair to assume that most of it comes from the Tour de France \u2013 the other sporting events they own are much smaller in terms of the amount of revenue they generate\u201d.<\/p>If that sounds like an eye-watering sum of money, you only have to look at A.S.O.\u2019s most recent accounts to see how profitable its events are. In the year to 31 December 2022, the company made more than \u20ac90 million profit \u2013 an increase of almost \u20ac20 million on the previous 12 months.\u00a0<\/p>
Two notable additions that could have been behind 2022\u2019s bumper profits were the launch of Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and the first season of Tour de France: Unchained<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\u201cThe two main revenue sources are television rights and sponsorship rights,\u201d says Duff. \u201cThey are quite stable sources of income because they’re multi-year deals. The hosting rights are less valuable, but they\u2019re still a good income source.\u201d<\/p>
What are the costs of hosting a Tour de France stage?<\/h2>![\"Crowds](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-451802532.jpg\")
It has been reported that start cities can pay \u20ac90,000 to host the Tour de France. – Oli Scarff \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>While it\u2019s not clear when A.S.O. officially started charging hosting rights, Duff\u2019s book notes how \u201cmayors across France helped out by paying a hosting fee in return for the travelling circus stopping in their towns\u201d as far back as the 1960s, while in 1977 \u201cthe mayor of Rennes complained about the cost of hosting a stage of the race, calling it a \u2018commercial enterprise, which overshadows a sporting contest\u2019.\u201d<\/p>
These locations aren\u2019t limited to France either, and the first Grand D\u00e9part \u2013 where the race starts outside of France \u2013 took place in Amsterdam in 1954. It has begun in numerous European host cities and towns since then, including the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Spain. This year it starts in Italy for the first time and in 2026 it will return to Spain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>
While A.S.O. refused to comment to Bike Radar on the costs of hosting a Tour de France stage, a spokesman told Accounting and Business<\/em> magazine in 2023<\/a> that \u201cstart cities pay \u20ac90,000 [$97,000] fees and arriving cities pay \u20ac130,000 [$140,000].\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>The Grand D\u00e9part can set back locations a lot more though. \u201cIt depends on the country and the host city. Logistical and organisation costs are not the same,\u201d added the spokesman.<\/p>
For the 2024 Grand D\u00e9part in Florence, the Tuscan city has paid \u20ac3 million to A.S.O. to host the first stage, which will see the peloton pass the iconic Duomo and roll over the medieval Ponte Vecchio bridge during the neutralised zone before racing starts in earnest from the city walls.<\/p>![\"Florence](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1549097903.jpg\")
Florence mayor Dario Nardella (left), Turin mayor Stefano Lo Russo (second left) and president of the Piedmont region Alberto Cirio (second right) receive the Grand D\u00e9part trophy at the 2023 Tour de France. – Marco Bertorello \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>But the costs of hosting the Tour de France only start with A.S.O.\u2019s fee. In addition to the host costs, all locations must invest in security, improved road surfaces, crowd management, press and marketing, and any side events celebrating the Tour\u2019s visit. It\u2019s how the costs of the 2014 Grand D\u00e9part in Yorkshire, Cambridge, Essex and London<\/a> ballooned from the \u00a34.2 million paid to A.S.O. to \u00a329.4 million in total.<\/p>\u201cThe Tour de France is a huge show that has no equals in the world,\u201d says Dr Nicola Armentano, a councillor for the Metropolitan City of Florence when asked why the city bid to host the 2024 Grand D\u00e9part when Italy already has the Giro d\u2019Italia.\u00a0<\/p>
He adds that the total investment, including A.S.O.\u2019s fee, will reach around \u20ac5 million, with \u20ac350,000 set aside for side events hosted by local associations and cultural institutions to promote the Tour de France but also the legacy of Tuscany\u2019s past champions.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cThere was also the aim of enhancing the figures of the great past cyclists because Tuscany gave birth to [1938 Tour de France winner] Gino Bartali, [1960 Tour de France winner] Gastone Nencini and Alfredo Martini. The newest generation knows about Pantani, but they don’t go further in the past,\u201d says Armentano.\u00a0<\/p>
After Tuscany, the 2024 Tour moves on to Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont for stages two and three, and each of the other regions has been charged a separate, smaller fee to host the start and finish.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cThe [Grand D\u00e9part] of the tour is more attractive than the other stages,\u201d explains Dr Armentano, before adding that the team presentations and extended accommodation requirements before the first stage mean it will \u201caffect the local economy much more than the other stages\u201d.<\/p>
Is it worth it?<\/h2>![\"Jumbo-Visma's](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1377327752.jpg\")
The 2023 Tour de France started in Bilbao. – Marco Bertorello \/ Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>While the costs involved might sound like bankrupting sums for local councils to cough up, especially in hard economics, having Le Tour pass through a town will provide an economic boom.<\/p>
\u201cAll these cities will run the numbers of what it will generate \u2013 they don’t just do it in the hope that it might generate income,\u201d says Duff. \u201cThey have some economic modelling to work out benefits: how many people will visit, how much people will spend, research on previous hosts, so they have a fair idea how much it will generate. It’s not only foreign visitors but people from the host country will also come to visit and increase their spending.\u201d<\/p>
Dr Armentano forecasts that Florence expects to benefit by about \u20ac20 million when you add up the hotel, food and beverage, and general expenses of those directly involved with the event (athletes, staff and media) and visitors.<\/p>
If anything, those figures sound conservative. The \u2018Three Inspirational Days<\/a>\u2019 report into the 2014 Grand D\u00e9part found there was a \u00a3128 million boost to Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and London because of the Tour de France, while Jeroen Roppe, spokesman for Visit Brussels, says hotels in the Belgian capital earned \u20ac5 million extra income during its hosting of the 2019 Grand D\u00e9part.\u00a0<\/p>\u201cThe occupancy grade of the hotels in Brussels was more or less 85 per cent, so almost all the hotels were fully occupied,\u201d Roppe adds.<\/p>
The downsides<\/h2>![\"Magnus](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1406219802.jpg\")
The willingness to pay for hosting the Grand D\u00e9part in Denmark is said to have decreased with physical distance from the route. – Tim de Waele\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Before delving into what\u2019s charged to have the Tour de France<\/a> come to town, it\u2019s worth considering\u00a0who owns the race \u2013 and is therefore profiting from these hosting fees.<\/p> The Tour de France is organised each year by Amaury Sports Organisation (A.S.O.), an independent business that is a subsidiary of Groupe Amaury, the family-run media empire headed by Marie-Odile Amaury, the widow of Philippe Amaury, and her two children, Jean-Etienne and Aurore.<\/p> A.S.O., and by extension Groupe Amaury, has owned at least 50 per cent of the race\u2019s rights since Philippe Amaury\u2019s father, \u00c9milien, acquired them in 1944 when assisting the then race director Jacques Goddet to start the sports newspaper L\u2019Equipe <\/em>in post-World War II Paris.\u00a0<\/p> \u00c9milien and A.S.O. eventually secured 100 per cent of Le Tour\u2019s rights when he bought L\u2019Equipe <\/em>in 1965. While A.S.O. also owns the rights to other events such as the Dakar Rally and cycling races including Paris-Nice and Paris-Roubaix, the Tour remains the jewel in its crown.<\/p> \u201cThe Tour de France is by far the biggest in terms of the value,\u201d says Alex Duff, author of Le Fric: Family, Power and Money: The Business of the Tour de France<\/em>. He adds that it\u2019s possible to see from accounts that the family have consistently paid themselves \u20ac20 million in dividends each year for the last 10-20 years, and \u201cit’s fair to assume that most of it comes from the Tour de France \u2013 the other sporting events they own are much smaller in terms of the amount of revenue they generate\u201d.<\/p> If that sounds like an eye-watering sum of money, you only have to look at A.S.O.\u2019s most recent accounts to see how profitable its events are. In the year to 31 December 2022, the company made more than \u20ac90 million profit \u2013 an increase of almost \u20ac20 million on the previous 12 months.\u00a0<\/p> Two notable additions that could have been behind 2022\u2019s bumper profits were the launch of Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and the first season of Tour de France: Unchained<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p> \u201cThe two main revenue sources are television rights and sponsorship rights,\u201d says Duff. \u201cThey are quite stable sources of income because they’re multi-year deals. The hosting rights are less valuable, but they\u2019re still a good income source.\u201d<\/p> While it\u2019s not clear when A.S.O. officially started charging hosting rights, Duff\u2019s book notes how \u201cmayors across France helped out by paying a hosting fee in return for the travelling circus stopping in their towns\u201d as far back as the 1960s, while in 1977 \u201cthe mayor of Rennes complained about the cost of hosting a stage of the race, calling it a \u2018commercial enterprise, which overshadows a sporting contest\u2019.\u201d<\/p> These locations aren\u2019t limited to France either, and the first Grand D\u00e9part \u2013 where the race starts outside of France \u2013 took place in Amsterdam in 1954. It has begun in numerous European host cities and towns since then, including the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Spain. This year it starts in Italy for the first time and in 2026 it will return to Spain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> While A.S.O. refused to comment to Bike Radar on the costs of hosting a Tour de France stage, a spokesman told Accounting and Business<\/em> magazine in 2023<\/a> that \u201cstart cities pay \u20ac90,000 [$97,000] fees and arriving cities pay \u20ac130,000 [$140,000].\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> The Grand D\u00e9part can set back locations a lot more though. \u201cIt depends on the country and the host city. Logistical and organisation costs are not the same,\u201d added the spokesman.<\/p> For the 2024 Grand D\u00e9part in Florence, the Tuscan city has paid \u20ac3 million to A.S.O. to host the first stage, which will see the peloton pass the iconic Duomo and roll over the medieval Ponte Vecchio bridge during the neutralised zone before racing starts in earnest from the city walls.<\/p> But the costs of hosting the Tour de France only start with A.S.O.\u2019s fee. In addition to the host costs, all locations must invest in security, improved road surfaces, crowd management, press and marketing, and any side events celebrating the Tour\u2019s visit. It\u2019s how the costs of the 2014 Grand D\u00e9part in Yorkshire, Cambridge, Essex and London<\/a> ballooned from the \u00a34.2 million paid to A.S.O. to \u00a329.4 million in total.<\/p> \u201cThe Tour de France is a huge show that has no equals in the world,\u201d says Dr Nicola Armentano, a councillor for the Metropolitan City of Florence when asked why the city bid to host the 2024 Grand D\u00e9part when Italy already has the Giro d\u2019Italia.\u00a0<\/p> He adds that the total investment, including A.S.O.\u2019s fee, will reach around \u20ac5 million, with \u20ac350,000 set aside for side events hosted by local associations and cultural institutions to promote the Tour de France but also the legacy of Tuscany\u2019s past champions.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cThere was also the aim of enhancing the figures of the great past cyclists because Tuscany gave birth to [1938 Tour de France winner] Gino Bartali, [1960 Tour de France winner] Gastone Nencini and Alfredo Martini. The newest generation knows about Pantani, but they don’t go further in the past,\u201d says Armentano.\u00a0<\/p> After Tuscany, the 2024 Tour moves on to Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont for stages two and three, and each of the other regions has been charged a separate, smaller fee to host the start and finish.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cThe [Grand D\u00e9part] of the tour is more attractive than the other stages,\u201d explains Dr Armentano, before adding that the team presentations and extended accommodation requirements before the first stage mean it will \u201caffect the local economy much more than the other stages\u201d.<\/p> While the costs involved might sound like bankrupting sums for local councils to cough up, especially in hard economics, having Le Tour pass through a town will provide an economic boom.<\/p> \u201cAll these cities will run the numbers of what it will generate \u2013 they don’t just do it in the hope that it might generate income,\u201d says Duff. \u201cThey have some economic modelling to work out benefits: how many people will visit, how much people will spend, research on previous hosts, so they have a fair idea how much it will generate. It’s not only foreign visitors but people from the host country will also come to visit and increase their spending.\u201d<\/p> Dr Armentano forecasts that Florence expects to benefit by about \u20ac20 million when you add up the hotel, food and beverage, and general expenses of those directly involved with the event (athletes, staff and media) and visitors.<\/p> If anything, those figures sound conservative. The \u2018Three Inspirational Days<\/a>\u2019 report into the 2014 Grand D\u00e9part found there was a \u00a3128 million boost to Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and London because of the Tour de France, while Jeroen Roppe, spokesman for Visit Brussels, says hotels in the Belgian capital earned \u20ac5 million extra income during its hosting of the 2019 Grand D\u00e9part.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cThe occupancy grade of the hotels in Brussels was more or less 85 per cent, so almost all the hotels were fully occupied,\u201d Roppe adds.<\/p>What are the costs of hosting a Tour de France stage?<\/h2>
Is it worth it?<\/h2>
The downsides<\/h2>
![\"Crowd](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-532445604.jpg\")