Ordnance Survey – Great Britain's national mapping agency

London to host Tour de France

06 July 2007

This weekend, for the first time in the 100-year history of the race, London is to open the Tour de France.

Visitors of over one million are expected in the capital as, along with the Wimbledon Tennis Championship Finals, the capital plays host to a sporting double-whammy.

Celebrations for the Tour de France will begin with an opening ceremony in Trafalgar Square this Friday, 6 July.

That will be followed by a special one-day race through London on Saturday 7 July.
The race proper will then begin on Sunday 8 July, with riders pedalling on an opening leg from London to Canterbury.

Kate Sharman, Account Manager with BHRConline.com (British Hotel Reservation Centre online service), said: ‘It is a great honour for London to host such a prestigious event and its historic setting will create a dramatic backdrop for one of the biggest annual sporting events in the world.’

This week a poll from Tripadvisor.com ranked the London Eye followed by the Tower of London as Europe's two top visitor attractions.

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