The promotion of cycling in London: The impact of the 2007 Tour de France Grand Depart on the image and provision of cycling in the capital

There is a growing recognition of the importance of events in society and of the wide ranging impacts that are characterised through economic, tourism, political, social, environmental and cultural impacts. The reasons for staging events are many and varied. Two areas that have attracted research are the impact on the image of a host and the legacy of the event. Research demonstrates that staging an event can enhance the image of a host and that it can also act as catalyst for development. What is less clear from research though is how a host city uses an event to act as a catalyst for any kind of cultural or social change, since many events have limited impact beyond the immediate aftermath of their occurrence. The purpose of this paper is to explore how a host city might use a major event to enhance its image to an internal (as well as external) audience in order to subsequently promote specific social and cultural development and, in doing so, provide a platform for a meaningful legacy to the host community that extends beyond the immediacy of the actual event. The paper demonstrates how the image of London was enhanced by carefully selected promotional messages that, in turn, provided a basis for its reinvention as a cyclised city.