City of Brussels and Brussels-Capital Region welcome Tour de France 2010

This page has been automatically translated from French into English by a translation software. Automatic translations are not as accurate as translations made by professional human translators. Nevertheless these pages can help you understand information published by the City of Brussels.

The City of Brussels will welcome the arrival of the 1st stage of the Tour de France 2010 on Sunday 4 July. The finish will be on the Avenue Houba de Strooper. The next stage will start at Brussels, at the Place des Palais.

A beautiful opportunity thus for the City of Brussels: with about 600 media coming from 180 countries, strong tourist attendance, direct and indirect economic effects... Next summer, Brussels will thus be part of the biggest cycling race on the planet. 2010 also coincides with the 65th anniversary of Eddy Merckx, a 5 time winner of the Tour.

Stage 1: Rotterdam-Brussels

The 1st stage of the Tour will go from Rotterdam to Brussels and pass by Meise, where Merckx lives. The final 5 kilometers will be on the territory of the City of Brussels with a big loop around the Atomium:

Avenue Bouchout [plan]
Avenue de Meysse [plan]
Avenue du Parc Royal [plan]
Boulevard Bockstael [plan]
Avenue Houba de Strooper (finish at the King Baudouin Stadium) [plan]

Stage 2: Brussels-Spa

On Monday 5 July the next stage will start at Brussels. The finish will be in Spa. The start will be at 12:30 pm at the Place des Palais [plan]. The 'Village de départ' will be in the Parc de Bruxelles/Warandepark. The Tour leaves Brussels via:

Rue Ducale [plan]
place du Trône [plan]
Boulevard du Régent [plan]
Rue Belliard [plan]
Avenue des Nerviens [plan]
Avenue des Gaulois [plan]
Avenue de Tervueren [plan]

Costs and receipts

The Tour stages in Brussels are a popular sports event for the whole family. They should also be an investment. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show to the world (millions of televiewers for the arrival and the departure the next day) that Brussels is far from being a bureaucratic city. 100.000 spectators are awaited in Brussels on this day. The City will receive the financial support of the Brussels Region because of the effects on the whole Region.