At the "Festival du Tour" the celebrations will be really "sporting"

On the meadow between Apolloplatz and the Rhine Tower, at the "Festival du Tour", the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017 is to be celebrated in a really "sporting" fashion: with information on all aspects of cycling, an exciting stage programme and plenty of hands-on activities! And the focus will always remain on the Tour - through transmission on an LED wall, throughout both stages, the fans in and around Düsseldorf will always be at the height of the action. The "Festival du Tour" welcomes you on Saturday, 1 July, from 11 am to 9 pm; and Sunday, 2 July, from 9.30 am to 7 pm. A hotspot will also be set up on 1 July at Burgplatz with LED wall and a stage programme from 12 am to 9 pm.

"Since February, the start of the Tour de France has already been accompanied and celebrated with a big supporting programme in Düsseldorf. The anticipation of the main event with the world stars of cycling is growing constantly. The 'Festival du Tour' will be a magnet for the spectators with two days of actions and information on the meadow in front of the state government buildings and more than 50 protagonists of every shade. There, the cycling fans will even be able to get up close to their idols, because the neutralised section after the start of the 2nd stage leads right across the festival grounds", Mayor Thomas Geisel explains. 

Landtagswiese - In front of the stage
Tourismus NRW shows the most beautiful cycling holiday areas in the state. At the ADFC, the German Cycling Federation, and the Deutsche Sporthilfe, there will be hands-on activities on all aspects of cycling. The police will provide information on the issue of safety, and you can clean your bike at a special bike wash. Welthungerhilfe, charity partner of the Grand Départ Düsseldorf, will be showing the bicycle as an essential means of transport (for survival). You can also chill at the "Festival Du Tour" - and that with a wide range of culinary offers and comfortable seating.

Special highlight: the great action area of the Stadtsportbund (city sport alliance) and the Sportamt (sports office) Düsseldorf. At the Düsseldorf sports clubs, visitors big and small can get active, check their fitness or try new sports. Mountain bike courses, numerous cycling activities, wheelchair handball and unicycling are on offer. But hockey, fencing and taekwondo will also be on the agenda.

Landtagswiese - On the stage
Top musical entertainment is guaranteed by Paul Falk (2 July, 3.10 pm), the party band Porno al Forno (2 July, 5 pm) and Pralinchen - a trio of grown men, who’ll be singing in Königsallee (1 July, 11.15 am) - or the Cologne band The Höösch (1 July, 3 pm). In between, there will be interesting interviews with participants from cycling and grassroots sport as well as dizzying bike artistry. On Saturday evening the big band of the German armed forces will end the first day of the Tour with a swinging concert.

Our tips: on Saturday, 1 July, from 7 pm, the big band of the German armed forces will be setting the tone. In addition, the neutralised section after the start of the 2nd stage on Sunday, 2 July, leads right through the festival grounds at around 12 am. There you can get right up close to the sport pros on two wheels.

The exhibitors at the "Festival du Tour" are: Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club Düsseldorf e.V., Amt für Verkehrsmanagement, ART Giants Düsseldorf, Bädergesellschaft Düsseldorf mbH, Borussia Düsseldorf, Bund deutscher Radfahrer e.V., Caritasverband Düsseldorf, Casper Sleep GmbH, cycleWASH "Fahrrad waschen im Vorbeigehen", Cycling Circus, Deutscher Fecht-Club Düsseldorf e.V., Düsseldorfer Hockey Club e.V., Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., Firma ICG, Firma Konrad Willar, Florians Hochradfahrschule, Fortuna 95, Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Radsports mbH, Indoor Cycling Group, L’ORÉAL Deutschland GmbH, Mountainbike-Club Düsseldorf 2015 e.V., NADA, Polizei Nordrhein Westfalen, Rad- und Motorsportverein "Frisch auf" Düsseldorf e.V., Rheinischer Fischereiverband von 1880 e.V., RP Media Service GmbH, Shahrdad Hannaneh, Sportwerk Düsseldorf e.V., Sportamt, DCSE, Stadtsportbund, Stiftung Deutsche Sporthilfe, tanzbar - Tanzschule Daniela Budde, Tennis-Bezirk III Düsseldorf e.V., Tourismus NRW e.V., TuS Gerresheim e.V., Verkehrswacht Düsseldorf e.V., Welthungerhilfe e.V., World Bycicle Relief and WZ Media GmbH.

On the A.S.O. stage on 1 July at Burgplatz
On the stage of the Tour organiser A.S.O. at Burgplatz, on Saturday, 1 July, from 12 am to 9 pm, the Tour fans can also expect an attractive action and music programme. From 12 am on, the Jazz-Band Swing Unit, the children’s songwriter Volker Rosin, the singer-songwriter Paul Falk, the pantomime Nemo and the clowns from South Africa, the entertainer and pianist Sascha Klar and the show-orchestra Swinging Funfares will be performing there. In between, the DJ Thomas Bohnet will be scrubbing the turntable. The pupils of the Mosaikschule will also perform, along with the best of Night-of-Freestyle cyclists with their BMX bikes. The former cycling pro Marcel Wüst will give a commentary on the start of the first stage from 3.15 pm from the stage. The A.S.O. stage will be dismantled after the end of the event in Düsseldorf on 1 July and then transferred to Liège, the destination of the 2nd stage.

Travelling to the "Festival du Tour"
Due to the temporary road closures during the two stages of the Tour de France in Düsseldorf city centre, guests are advised to reach the hotspots and action areas by public transport, bike or on foot. Using the Rheinbahn app and the timetable information under www.rheinbahn.de/tour ,you can find information on all the possible connections and the exact travel times. In addition, you can also use the app to buy a ticket directly.