IN BRIEF
The opening ceremony and team presentation of the 2027 Tour de France will take place on Wednesday 30 June 2027 at 18:30, on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle, two days before the Grand Départ. Entry will not be free: around 9,000 tickets are due to go on sale, from £27. Presales open on 23 October, general sale on 30 October. Without a ticket, there will still be the Royal Mile to watch the riders pass on their way to the castle.
| Date | Wednesday 30 June 2027, from 18:30 |
| Venue | Edinburgh Castle esplanade |
| Show | Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo |
| Tickets | around 9,000, from £27 |
| Grand Départ GB newsletter presale | Friday 23 October, at noon |
| British Cycling, Scottish Cycling, Beicio Cymru presale | Saturday 24 October, at noon |
| Tattoo customers presale | Monday 26 October, at noon |
| Presales close | Wednesday 28 October, at midnight |
| General sale | Friday 30 October, at noon |
For the 2027 Tour de France, the venue dictates this choice: perched on a hill above the city, the esplanade offers limited access, making ticketing necessary.
A team presentation staged by the Tattoo
The show will be entrusted to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a bagpipe and dance spectacle performed in the city every August. On the programme announced by the organisers: Highland dancers, pipe and drum ensembles, and music composed for the occasion. The ceremony is meant to celebrate Scottish culture while presenting the riders to the public.
The festivities are also due to spill beyond the castle walls: spectators without a ticket will be able to watch the riders approach along the Royal Mile, without access to the presentation itself.
The 2027 Tour de France revives a 2014 precedent
Tour team presentations have charged for entry before, mostly in venues with limited capacity, but they are generally free. The last example dates back to 2014, at the previous British start: entry to the First Direct Arena in Leeds then cost £45 and up. The Edinburgh ticket starts at £27, or €32, for a race usually watched for free at the roadside.
The Tour de France returns to Great Britain in 2027, with the start of the men’s Tour and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The men’s race sets off from Edinburgh on Friday 2 July, heading to Carlisle, in England. The second stage links Keswick to Liverpool, and the third is raced entirely in Wales, from Welshpool to Cardiff.
