Communities in Nottinghamshire are being urged to embrace the Tour of Britain when it returns to the county on Thursday 8th September by taking part in Nottinghamshire County Council’s Best Dressed Town or Village challenge.
Stage five of the showpiece event will pass some of the county’s most iconic and well-known tourist attractions, with the route also covering sweeping countryside and dozens of towns and villages along the 116-mile route.
Now with just a few days to go until the world-famous cycle races comes back to Robin Hood Country, the County Council is on the hunt to find the “best dressed” community.
The county has previously welcomed the world’s best cyclists for the 2017 and 2018 editions of the race, with 250,000 spectators lining the route four years ago and helping to boost the Nottinghamshire economy by £3.9 million.
In addition to the thousands of visitors who’ll flock to the county for the event, a global TV audience of millions will also watch the race – putting the international spotlight on our towns and villages for the day.
Councillor John Cottee, the County Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “The countdown to the Tour of Britain’s return to Nottinghamshire is well and truly underway and the sense of anticipation is building in our communities who’ll firmly embrace the spirit of the race, as they’ve done in previous years.
“Once again, the eyes of the world will be on our wonderful county and this is a fantastic opportunity to showcase what it has to offer.
“I cannot wait to see how this year’s route will be transformed by residents, schools, businesses and landowners in our towns and villages.
“I’m sure everyone will once again rise to the challenge and make it a day to remember as we celebrate the return of some of the world’s top cyclists racing along our roads.”
In 2018, race organisers singled out Nottinghamshire for having the best fans of the whole Tour and praised communities for embracing the day by producing a spectacular sea of flags, bunting and bike displays as the event passed through the county.
That year, Plumtree scooped the Best Dressed Village accolade in Rushcliffe for its dazzling decorations, which included 200 life-sized cardboard bikes with different themes created by local schoolchildren displayed in shops, cafes, and public buildings.
To take part, all you have to do is send no more than four photos via email to competitions@nottscc.gov.uk or post your photos on social media using #NottsToB. The closing date to submit your entries is Monday 12th September.
Please make sure you have permission from the owners of any buildings or land you want to decorate.
In need of inspiration? Here are a few ideas:
- Decorate the route with flags and bunting
- Create colourful town/village/window displays
- Get your local community group involved
- Decorate old wheels or bikes to display
- Create land art in your local space – the bigger the better
- The theme doesn’t need to be bicycle related, you can showcase your district heritage, landmarks, famous people or anything you are proud of
- Celebration of industries are also encouraged but commercial advertising will not be counted.