Cost of one-off cycling event soars above £60m as arts organisations are left waiting for promised £100m

The cost of staging a one-off cycling event in Scotland is set to top £60m - and go 20 per cent over its original budget.

The Scottish Government is expected to pay almost £40 million to pay for the hosting of the one-off UCI Cycling World Championships.

At least £9 million more is thought to have been spent on “legacy” projects to improve cycling facilities across the country on the back of the event being staged last August.

The men's elite road race crosses Princes Street in Edinburgh during the UCI Cycling World Championships last August. Picture: Katielee Arrowsmith

Events industry insiders believe the final cost will be at least £63 million once all financial agreements have been settled.

The increased costs of putting on the event, which was described as a “roaring success” by Scottish culture secretary Angus Robertson, have emerged as the government’s own arts agency faces a £47.4m shortfall to meet demand from festivals, venues and organisations.

The art industry is still waiting for details of a roll-out of an additional £100 million in new funding for the cultural sector, which was pledged again by First Minister John Swinney at Holyrood this week.

It was initially promised weeks in the wake of a backlash after it emerged that the government had quietly reinstated a £6.6 million funding cut for Creative Scotland, weeks after the cycling event was held.

France's Benoit Cosnefroy leads a group of riders along George Square in Glasgow during day four of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire.

The government only has £4.7 million ringfenced for major culture and sporting events in the current financial year.

It has insisted it will not be allocating any culture funding for the next financial year until December - two months after Creative Scotland's is due to decide on its next round of three-year funding programmes.

Arts industry leaders recently told Mr Swinney that the funding environment is “extremely precarious” with the prospect of “devastating” decisions for organisations in October unless the promised additional funding is “brought forward at both the levels and pace that are needed.”

The First Minister was also warned by the “Culture Counts” collective that Scotland’s reputation and ambitions as an “international cultural leader” are being put at “serious risk” after 13 years of “erosion” of culture budgets.

Spectators lining the route of the women's elite road race at the UCI Cycling World Championships as winner Lotte Kopecky of Belgium crossed the finish line in Glasgow city centre. Picture: Will Matthews/PA

The government, which had initially committed £30 million for the event, set up a limited company, via its tourism agency VisitScotland, to deliver the championships, which were said to have attracted more than a million spectators and more than 7000 participants across nine days.

More than 3500 volunteers were recruited for the event, which was said to have generated around £205m for the Scottish economy, according to research published in February.

However final costs for the cycling event have still not been calculated even though it was held 10 months ago.

Glasgow City Council, which contributed £16 million, was the other major funder of the event, which brought together 13 different competitions for the first time.

The UCI Cycling World Championships were staged across Scotland in August 2023. Picture: David Pintens

The championships were staged across 14 local authority areas last August, with key locations including Stirling, Fort William, Perth, Loch Lomond, Edinburgh, Angus, Dundee, Fife and the Borders.

A spokeswoman for Cycling World Championships Ltd said it was not possible to give a final figure for the cost of the event until all contracts had been closed.

She added: “The total cost for hosting the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships will be around £60 million. The inaugural event has already reported delivering significant social, economic and environmental benefits including £205m in economic impact for Scotland.

"The event was broadcast in 130 countries with around 200 million hours watched live on television over 11 days.

“Funding for the event was through contributions from the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, UK Sport, British Cycling and host Local Authorities, as well as from commercial revenue streams and sponsorship.”

A spokesman for the government said: “The original budget for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships was £50m, with the Scottish Government funding contributing £30m. These figures were, however, set before significant macro-economic challenges, most notably inflationary pressures.

"The cost of hosting the event, which has already been reported as delivering significant social, economic and environmental benefits, is still being finalised but is now estimated at around £60 million.”

“Scottish ministers have increased culture sector funding by £15.8m to almost £200m this financial year, as the first step to investing at least £100m more annually in culture and the arts by 2028/29.”