SPORT TOUR OF BRITAIN
Wheels in motion
Edinburgh’s events and festivals champion reflects on a winning bid
BY WILLIAM PEAKIN I
t is every organiser’s nightmare: plans are in place, people are briefed and the venue is ready – then an announcement is made about another event that will
clash. “A matter of weeks before the Tour
of Britain arrived in Edinburgh, the council received notice of Her Majesty the Queen’s plans to of- ficially open Scotland’s new Borders Railway - on the same day,” recalled Councillor Richard Lewis. “Not only would this be a major Royal engage- ment, but the day marked the Queen becoming Britain’s longest reigning monarch.” Lewis, the city’s culture and sport
convener and champion for festivals and events, added: “Both the official Borders Railway celebrations and the Tour of Britain were going to take place in a confined area of the city and would even cross paths, physi- cally and in terms of staff involved. Tis meant the council needed to work very closely with multiple agencies.” But everything went smoothly as
thousands of spectators gathered in September to watch one of the big- gest events in the national sporting calendar zoom through the capital. Te fourth stage of the Tour of
Britain saw cycling fans flock to the starting line in Holyrood Park eager to catch a glimpse of stars such as Sir Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and defending champion Dylan van Baarle, then line vantage points throughout the city as more than 100 racers sped past a series of landmarks.
Edinburgh-born cyclist Evan Oliphant on the Royal Mile route
“Te support of the council’s
events officers and public safety was paramount but to in order to ensure a successful event, we needed to encourage Edinburgh residents to be supportive,” said Lewis. “In one respect that was easy - the
Tour of Britain is a hugely exciting tournament and there are many cycling fans in the city - but as with most major events we knew there would be a level of disruption to traf- fic and footfall along the race route. We relied on our partners including Event Scotland, the race organis- ers SweetSpot, Police Scotland and Marketing Edinburgh to do this. We operated a rolling road closure to minimise disruption to traffic and pedestrians. “In order to ensure the event was
a success, the council liaised with businesses operating along the route to gain their understanding and sup- port. We actively promoted the event and the benefits for the city through local news channels and a concerted social media push. “We worked with Aviva, a key
sponsor of the Tour of Britain, to arrange city dressing along Edin-
“WE NEED TO KEEP OURSELVES OPEN TO NEW, INNOVATIVE IDEAS”
Richard Lewis
burgh’s historic Royal Mile. Catch- ing the attention of visitors to the city was just as important to us as encouraging local support.”
THE COUNCILMANAGES and pro- vides support to a full spectrum of organisations, venues and initiatives all year round including museums, galleries, theatre and art. Trough an arms-length organisation, Edinburgh Leisure, the Council supports public access to sport. Edinburgh is also world-renowned
as an events destination and increas- ingly, is proving popular for pro- fessional sports tournaments. It is Lewis’s job to maintain and encour- age council and city-wide support of this unique scene. “It had long been an aim of ours to
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bring the Tour of Britain to Edin- burgh and working in partnership with Event Scotland, we submitted a bid,” said Lewis. “We drew on the city’s envious backdrops and resi- dents’ keen take-up of cycling. Our council officers in sports develop- ment, events management, public safety and roads have great experi- ence managing large-scale events and we have a growing reputation for hosting them.” Lewis added: “Being involved in
the organisation of this world-class event has been very educational and the council, as well as others in- volved, will certainly aim to embrace the excitement it brought to the city around professional cycling. “Edinburgh is the birthplace of
Sir Chris Hoy, and having hosted the Commonwealth Games twice, it has a strong history of both track and road cycling. We will continue to use this as a foundation and as a draw for future cycling events.” Lewis is looking forward to 2016:
“Every year, the city’s August and winter festivals are a Scottish high- light. I am looking forward to finding out what’s in store for the Edin- burgh International Festival in 2016 under new Festival Director Fergus Linehan. I’m sure his second year at the helm of the festival will be just as extraordinary. “Edinburgh is a small city but it
punches well above its weight. Te festivals are world famous. I think Scotland is increasingly being no- ticed for its breathtaking landscape and locations and it appeals to event organisers. Increased transport links and accommodation and a solid understanding of how to host major events is also very important. “What we need to do is keep our-
selves open to new, innovative ideas and aim to have the correct infra- structure in place to support event organisers.”
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EVENTSBASE | WINTER 2015 | 23
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