The great start of the 2023 Tour de France generates an impact on the Basque economy of more than 103 million euros

• Taking the final budget of 12.2 million as a reference, the return has been 8.5 euros for each euro of investment in the “Grand Départ Pays Basque 2023”.
• The study carried out by Ikertalde, the Basque Government’s consultancy, highlights that the event generated economic activity equivalent to 904 jobs per year, in addition to almost 19.5 million in taxes.
• The great start of the Tour received 91% of support from citizens and 86% consider that it has generated great moments of joy in the Basque Country.

(Bilbao, 13 November 2023) The Grand Départ Pays Basque 2023 generated an impact of 103.9 million euros on the economy of the Basque Country. This is the main data that emerges from the report prepared by Ikertalde for the organizing committee of an event that had a final budget of 12.2 million. Therefore, each euro invested has meant a return of 8.5. According to these data, the event has generated economic activity equivalent to 904 jobs per year, in addition to generating more than 58 million in GDP resulting from the activity and raising almost 19.5 million for the public coffers.

These are the main data that Bingen Zupiria, Minister for Culture and Language Policy of the Basque Government, detailed this morning at the Euskalduna Palace. Accompanied by Juan Mari Aburto (Mayor of Bilbao); Xabier Ochandiano (Councillor for Development, Commerce, Employment and Tourism of the City Council of Bilbao); Cristina Múgica (Director General of Territorial Competitiveness and Tourism of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia); Eduardo Aguinaco (Director of Strategic Areas of the Provincial Council of Alava-Araba), and Susana Alfonso (Director of the Sports and Health Service of the City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz), the spokesman for the Basque Government presented the complete study prepared by Ikertalde, a company with more than thirty years of experience in the field of statistics, evaluation and consulting.

Before detailing the most outstanding figures, Zupiria wanted to highlight what the Grand Départ Pays Basque 2023 meant: “A great country project, of intense inter-institutional work at the highest level, pioneering in many ways, which has received the recognition and congratulations of one of the largest event organizers in the world, the Tour de France. The position and image of the Basque Country in the international league of attractive places to hold great events has been strengthened thanks to the great effort made and commitment shown by a Basque society that has committed itself so that the event has been a success,” said the Minister.

Economic impact

The report estimates the impact on the Basque economy of the Grand Départ Pays Basque 2023 at 103.9 million. An event that has had a final budget of 12.2 million and that has involved the seven main institutions of the Basque Country, such as the Basque Government, the 3 councils and the city councils of the three capitals. The preparation and development of the event required the creation and implementation of an organizing committee that would bring together and make operational all the needs demanded by the organisation of the third largest sporting event in the world. 

Of the 113 service contracts for carrying out this great milestone in the history of the Basque Country, 104 were managed by Basque companies, which is 92% of them. They have been contractors who, in many cases, have driven companies to a higher operational and technological level, associated with the complexity, size and forecasts for the project, as well as the entry of new products and services.

On the other hand, the Grand Départ Pays Basque has generated about 54 million euros which have had an indirect impact on the Basque economy. This figure includes the expenses of overnight stays, purchases, transport and activities of those attending the Tour, not concerned with organising it, in addition to the one originated by the local public itself.

Social impact

The report highlights that 91% of Basque citizens were in favour of organising the great start of the 110th edition of the Tour de France, and also considers that the positioning of the Basque Country as a tourist destination has improved. The same percentage emphasised that during those days, the Basque Country was the centre of world news and events. 82% think that the start of the Tour was an integrative event and 86% that it has caused moments of happiness. In addition, 80% took pride in the fact that the most important cycling event in the world took place on our roads. Up to 85% of citizens believe that more similar events should be brought in.

Live tracking of the Grand Départ

Citizens experienced first-hand one of the biggest international sporting events. The Grand Départ Pays Basque enjoyed a joint attendance at its main events of nearly one million people — 988,000. The opening day, starting and finishing in Bilbao, brought together around 364,000 people. Some 294,000 gathered for the stage that united Vitoria-Gasteiz and Donostia/San Sebastián, while the farewell stage, between Amorebieta-Etxano and Baiona, saw 179,000 people gather in Irun. About 30% of this audience were visitors from outside the Basque Country.

To these data should be added the nearly 45,000 people who gathered at the official team presentation on 29 June and the 106,000 who visited the Fan Park, located in the Arenal de Bilbao, from 29 June to 1 July, a record number in the history of the Tour, surpassing the 78,000 in Brussels in 2019.

Media tracking

The size of the Tour de France is evident with the figure of 150 million television viewers in Europe alone who watched 750 million hours of live television. In addition, the Tour is broadcast to almost 200 televisions around the world. Beyond these general data, the Grand Départ Pays Basque, as one of the main milestones of the sporting event, gathered 4.1 million people in the state alone in front of the television to enjoy the first three stages. EITB obtained a cumulative audience of more than 600,000 people during those three days, with a peak share of 19% on the opening day. Throughout the Tour, EITB, the Basque Country television company, accumulated up to 460,000 unique users, a milestone in the history of its streamed programmes.

The official website of the start, https://letour.euskadi.eus, in four languages, generated a figure of almost 300,000 users who generated a total of 420,000 sessions, more than 20% of them with direct access, which gives an idea of the importance it acquired as an information and entertainment tool for those passionate about cycling. The enabled social networks also became a very relevant and active communication channel, with about 16,000 followers, in addition to 9.5 million scope, impressions and views adding the four networks launched: X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.

The media impact of the Grand Départ Pays Basque also includes all publications in written media, television, radio and digital media throughout the entire process, from the collection of the ‘Trophy Tour‘ in Paris to its delivery to Florence Emilia - Romagna as its new headquarters. During this time, the Grand Départ Pays Basque 2023 appeared in about 18,000 publications, 88% of them in the ‘main’ period, between the presentation of the teams and the third stage. These publications have had a potential audience of more than 69,000 million, 89% during the main period. The equivalent economic value generated by this audience has been estimated at 115.2 million euros. In other words, to achieve the media presence obtained, it would have been necessary to invest 115.2 million euros.