Opening ceremony of the 114th Tour de France at Edinburgh Castle, with a show by the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the riders' route through the city.
The Tour de France is coming to Edinburgh Castle on the evening of Wednesday 30 June 2027, for the opening ceremony of the race's 114th edition. It's a big one for the city: the 2027 Grand Départ is the first time both the men's and women's races will start in the UK, and the first time the Tour has ever visited Scotland.
The ceremony is being staged by The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, so it'll have the Tattoo's usual mix of massed pipes and drums, with a bespoke song written for the occasion by Angus MacPhail of the band Skippinish. The Tattoo is known for bringing together military and cultural acts from around the world, and they're bringing that same approach here—music, precision performance and dance, all backed by cutting-edge lighting and sound. The riders' route through the city is a first for a Grand Départ: they'll pass the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Royal Mile on their way up to the castle, so you can see them coming long before they reach the esplanade.
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Stage 1 follows on Friday 2 July, running 184km south to Carlisle. It takes the riders through Midlothian, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway, so if you're not in the city, there's plenty of the route to catch from the roadside. The opening ceremony itself is on the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, and tickets start at £27; the esplanade itself is unticketed and free to attend, so you can still get a look even if you're not in the stands.
