Villeneuve-sur-Lot is a town with around 22,000 inhabitants in the south-west of France, halfway between Toulouse and Bordeaux. The 12th stage of the Tour de France ended there on 11 July 2024, won by Biniam Girmay. The newspaper La Dépêche last year calculated the costs that the city would have to incur in order to function as a destination.
Almost 100,000 euros to A.S.O.
"For the Tour de France itself, the costs for the city, excluding road construction, amounted to 225,363 Euro", Mayor Gérard Régnier was quoted as saying in November 2024. The road construction measures - resurfacing of the carriageway, removal of traffic islands and roundabouts - once again hit the ground running. 30,000 euros to book.
The mayor does not include this sum in the "Tour de France costs", as such road construction measures "are permanent and benefit the city and users in the long term", says Régnier. The additional personnel costs of 9,000 euroswhich could be cushioned thanks to many volunteers, he does not include in his net Tour de France calculation.
This exists for Mayor Régnier in addition to payment to A.S.O. in the amount of 95,254 Euro also from 117,899 Euro for marketing and other activities in the run-up to 12,210 Eurowhich, in total, the 225,363 Euro results.
This income was generated to finance
Various sources were tapped to finance the project. The city received a grant in the amount of 55,000 euros from the department of Lot-et-Garonne, with 100,000 euros The plum growers' association was the largest donor, and finally 45,500 euros by companies and donations.
With the help of all these donors, Villeneuve-sur-Lot 200,500 euros which, in the interim calculation, resulted in a minus of around 25,000 euros if road construction and additional personnel costs are excluded. If these are added, the result is a minus of just under 64,000 euros for the city.
It is difficult to say whether this money will be recouped in the coming years through the advertising value that the arrival of the stage represents for the city in the long term - for example through the tourists who come.
Sample calculation Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Expenditure
- Marketing: 117,899 euros
- A.S.O. fee: 95,254 euros
- Road construction measures: 30,000 euros
- Activities in the run-up: 12,210 euros
- Personnel costs: 9000 Euro
- Total costs: 264,363 euros
Revenues
- Plum growers' association: 100,000 euros
- Department of Lot-et-Garonne: 55,000 euros
- Companies and donations: 45,500 euros
- Total revenue: 200,500 euros
How much does a Grand Départ of the Tour de France cost?
In terms of costs, Villeneuve-sur-Lot is comparatively "cheap" when you consider the cost of a Grand Depart, for example, where the Tour often stays for several days. Although there are no official figures from the A.S.O. here either, there are figures from some venues, such as Düsseldorf, where the last Grand Depart on German soil took place in 2017.
Revenue of around eight million euros were issues of 15.9 million euros, as the mayor at the time, Thomas Geisel, published in his final report. These red figures fuelled political discussions on the Rhine for years to come.
