Christopher BarrettTour De France 2027’s UK delivery team has been formed, and new mayor sports events operator UKEL launched, in preparation for what UK Sport expects to be the largest free-to-spectate sports event in UK history.
The team responsible for leading the delivery of the Grand Départ of both the 2027 Tour De France and Tour De France Femmes, Avec Zwift has today been confirmed, as part of what UK Sport described as a game-changing step which also sees the creation of a new company it said will safeguard the future of major sporting events in the UK.
The Grand Départ 2027 will be the first time that both races have been staged in the same country outside of France. A newly established Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) – Grand Départ GB 2027 – will maintain oversight of the delivery of the events and manage public funding on behalf of DCMS, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and UK Sport.
The SPV is a joint venture between British Cycling and UKEL – a new, independent, not-for-profit company established to help ensure that delivery of major sporting events in the UK is fit for the future. UK Sport said the partnership is the first of its kind in the UK and represents a new era for flagship sporting events hosted on British soil.
The acting chair of the Grand Départ GB 2027 Board will be Chris Brindley, the former chair of Rugby League World Cup 2021 and current chair of the Northern Ireland Football League. Members of the board include Wimbledon Championships operations director Michelle Dite, and Paul Williamson whose many previous roles include director of ticketing at the London 2012 Olympics.
UK Sport said UKEL has been established to safeguard and enhance the UK’s ability to secure and deliver global events, and to better meet the changing needs of the international sports event market. The not-for-profit company will support national governing bodies to bid for and host major events, and provide core services to the UK’s event hosting industry. Grand Départ GB 2027 will be the first event to be delivered through UKEL.
The UKEL board will be chaired by Alys Carlton, the current chair of the Football Association of Wales and a former corporate lawyer. She will sit alongside Chris Brindley and Steve Elworthy, chief executive of Surrey County Cricket Club and former CEO of the 2017 and 2019 Cricket World Cups. Esther Britten, head of events and external affairs at UK Sport, will also join the board as an observer.
Brindley said, “Today heralds a new era for event delivery in the UK with the establishment of UKEL Ltd which will be critical to enabling major sporting events to be held in the UK over the coming years and, crucially, will ensure those events deliver a more extensive positive impact on UK communities.”