The Women’s Tour of Britain is coming to the West Midlands, bringing a wealth of opportunities for local businesses to support the region and women’s sport.

The event is the UK’s first international stage race for women, and part of the prestigious UCI Women’s World Tour. The British tour will start in Oxfordshire and finish in Suffolk. Stage two will take place on Tuesday 5 October 2021, and will be hosted by our nearby neighbour, Walsall. The stage will start in the town’s Arboretum and finish in the town centre, going via Hayhead Woods, Barr Beacon nature reserve and Pool Green.

This is a fantastic opportunity for your Sandwell business to get involved, boost your profile and be part of promoting a prestigious sporting event. The race attracts an annual roadside audience of 300,000, as well as over three million television and online viewers. Walsall Council is also planning a range of in-person events around the race, in both the town centre and the Arboretum, to entertain the expected crowds.

There are many ways for local businesses to get involved, including commercial sponsorship, support of cultural activities and partnership opportunities for brands looking to be associated with the world’s leading women’s professional cycling race.

Councillor Adrian Andrew, deputy leader of Walsall Council, said: “We’re excited to be hosting a stage of this prestigious race and look forward to welcoming cycling fans to the town in October. I’m sure the people of Walsall and the wider region will turn out in numbers to cheer the riders on. This is a great opportunity for the borough and will hopefully inspire more people to take to two wheels.”

For more information, and a map of stage two, visit the council’s website. To enquire about getting involved, email businesssupport@walsall.gov.uk. If you have an enquiry about how the race might affect your business deliveries and transportation, you can contact the Walsall Council highways team on highways@walsall.gov.uk.

Think Sandwell urges businesses in our borough to get behind our neighbouring town and make the most of the opportunities this high profile event offers.