The Ilkley Hub is a FREE, FUN, FAMILY, FESTIVAL!!! The Ilkley Riverside was the first, official ‘Grand Depart’ spectator hub to be announced. From the 4thto 6th July, entry will be free to the site, which is based just a few hundred metres away from the centre of town, the train station and all the live race action. It is one of only three hubs to be open for trading for four days and will be the
third largest in the region. The capacity for the site is an impressive 13,000 people, with Welcome to Yorkshire anticipating the potential for an additional 50,000 visitors to Ilkley over the two main race days. The hub will include a superb combination of retailers, food and drink offerings and entertainment, targeted at all ages and ideal for families. Visitors can enjoy their day out safe in the knowledge that there will be 100 volunteers on hand to assist and 150 people employed purely to ensure crowd safety. The food court will offer many different types of cuisine to cover most tastes, where possible. A beer and wine tents, as well as many other drink option will run alongside ensuring visitors have the choice of drinks to match their selected food. The entertainment will be an eclectic mix, comprising of children’s activities, World Record attempts, bands and performers. With many other activities, events and headline acts. Two giant screens will show the race live and on none race dates and times they will endeavour to show other key summer sporting events taking place. This will include the likes of Wimbledon. The Pop-Up Cinema will show cycling themed films as well as family favourites such as Grease, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Frozen! With the tour caravan coming through Illkley at approximately 10.25am on Sat 5th July, followed by the riders two hours later, the hub gives spectators the choice to either watch the race directly or on the screens provided, whilst still being able to soak up the atmosphere. The hub site is situated next to the main parking in Ilkley for the event, with parking for 1000 cars and only a two minute walk from the largest of Ilkleys special Tour De France campsites, which accommodate 1000 pitches. There will even be secure parking for over 200 bikes. The hub also has its own website and Twitter account, which will be used to generate further interest and footfall in advance and during the event. It will be well sign-posted leading down to the Riverside and the volunteers will help guide people to the site. It is the first time 'Le Tour' has ever visited the North of England. As a stall holder it would be a one off opportunity to showcase your products to the estimated 50,000 footfall and be part of this monumental event. As a spectator, it is a chance to be part of this momentous occasion and have a fabulous time with friends and family. Many of the visitors will be coming from outside of the region, so this is Ilkleys chance to showcase what it has to offer and prove that we can organise and host such an impressive event.
