The Tour de France Roadshow in Maidstone

I can only hope, it was because we arrived an hour before the show would close. Because the Tour de France Roadshow that I went to in Maidstone on Saturday is the saddest excuse of an appetizer I have ever encountered.

We arrived in Maidstone just after 15:00 having spent a nice afternoon at Leeds Castle. You’ll know from my previous post What is Tour de France doing in London? that I’m very excited about the Tour de France coming to London. So imagine my disappointment, when we found out that the roadshow that was supposed to “inform, entertain and inspire” (source: tourdefrancelondon.com) consisted of a single bandstand with a few information posters, two flatscreens and a couple of exercise bikes. Needless to say that the man with the microphone was fighting a losing battle trying to get passers-by interested.

We did join him on the bandstand for about 10 minutes, just long enough to be handed a brochure and read the posters. But come on Britain, is this the best you can do? We’re talking about one of the biggest sporting events here. A fantastic opportunity to get kids interested in cycling and sports in general! So where were the streamers, t-shirts, caps, pens, balloons, key rings, jerseys, water bottles, calendars, not to mention interactive DVDs? I am so grateful, I did not bring any children! And even more grateful that I already know how exciting the Tour de France is, because the roadshow did nothing to sell the event!

Like I said above, I hope that the “show” did a better job earlier in the day, or that it will do a better job the next time. If you’ve been to the Tour de France Roadshow, please leave a comment below, as I’d be very interested in hearing about your experience.

Technorati Tags: Tour de France, Tour de France Roadshow

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