"Bonjour le Tour": 21 stages at the Town Hall in anticipation of the Grand Départ in Düsseldorf

On Saturday, 25 March, the heart of Düsseldorf’s old town will beat to the rhythm of the Tour de France, whose Grand Départ 2017 is set to take place from 28 June to 2 July in Düsseldorf. Under the title "Bonjour le Tour", at the start of the big action programme at Düsseldorf’s Town Hall, from 12 a.m. everything will revolve around the cycling event with numerous activities, plenty of information and a whole lot of French flair. In addition, on 25 March, the starting shot is to be fired for the children’s cycling competition "Petit Départ" with 100 kids at the university sports ground. There’ll also be a new addition to the RADschlag app: alongside the existing, recommended bike routes, the official 1st stage of the Tour de France 2017 is to be added as a special expedition. The action day ends with the "Nacht der Museen" with numerous exhibitions picking up on the themes "Tour", "France" and "Cycling". The Town Hall will also be open and offer hourly guided tours. Lord Mayor Thomas Geisel and Tour Director Christian Prudhomme will visit the scenes of the action day together.

"With the action day 'Bonjour le Tour', the focus is increasingly on the start of the Tour de France in Düsseldorf, and I can feel a growing sense of anticipation in the town: more and more protagonists want to get involved in the programme of the Grand Départ 2017. More and more people are rediscovering the bicycle as a practical and, at the same time, environmentally friendly means of transport. And more and more people sense that the Tour de France is an opportunity for the state capital to present itself as a friendly and culturally open city in the heart of Europe", says the Mayor Günter Karen-Jungen, Chairman of the Small Commission of the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017.

City Director Burkhard Hintzsche: "From the children's cycling competition to the great programme at the Town Hall, the bicycle flea market and the 'Nacht der Museen': the action day 'Bonjour le Tour' reflects the many facets with which the themes 'Tour de France', 'Cycling' and 'France' are presented in Düsseldorf. Here, all the generations are addressed and encouraged to join in. I look forward to an exciting action day with sports, art, culture and attractions!"

Helma Wassenhoven, Head of the Department for Civic Engagement: "In Düsseldorf, the Tour de France is lived with a great deal of creativity! On the action day 'Bonjour le Tour' there’ll be a whole lot to discover, such as the Eiffel Tower made of Lego or the ‘Radldruckmaschine’, the pedal-powered printing machine. With stands, music, entertainment and culinary offers, Marktplatz at the Town Hall will be transformed into an information mile for the Grand Départ 2017."

Tour air is blowing round Düsseldorf’s Town Hall
At the Town Hall, on Saturday 25 March, 12.30 a.m., the official starting shot is to be fired for the 100-day programme leading up to the start of the Tour. Based on the traditional total number of stages of the Tour, the visitors will be able to take a deep breath of Tour air, test their own fitness and gather information all about the Grand Départ in 21 stages at Marktplatz, Zollstraße and Rathausufer. In front of the Town Hall, the Tour partners, Messe Düsseldorf (trade fair) and the Stadtwerke (municipal works) will present themselves and offer join-in activities. For example, the Stadtwerke Düsseldorf will have a slot car racing track operated by vigorous pedalling. Information about the race course and the supporting programme will be available at the stands of the Tour office. And if you’ve always wanted to ride the route yourself, you’ll have the opportunity to race the Tour virtually at the roadshow. At the Stadtsportbund (community sports association), anyone who likes can challenge his own mountains classification on the climbing walls, and on the exercise bikes of the Sportamt (sports office), you can put your fitness to the test. At the stand of All Kids, children can also make their own window pictures with the "Bergische" lion on a bicycle and have bikes painted on their faces.
 
Zollstraße will be entirely dedicated to the theme of art: the artist Claudia Seidensticker from the association Krass will be transforming old innertubes into a "Radschlag-T(o)urm" (bike Tou(we)r) together with the visitors. Past sound sculptures along the Rhine promenade where six stage locations are represented: Liege, Vervier, Haute Saone, S. de Provence, Peyragude and Troyes will be offering delicacies and promoting the French way of life.

An Eifel Tower made of Lego, as colourful as the world itself, can also be admired at the Town Hall. The tower with a scale of 1:100 consists of around 22,000 bricks and took about 100 hours to build. The dimensions: height 3.24 metres, width 1.25 metres and depth 1.25 metres.

With Tissot and Skoda, important sponsors of the Tour organiser A.S.O., can also be seen. And if you want information on public transport, the Rheinbahn with its popular children’s tram on Rathausufer is the place to go. In all the squares and alleys of the Old Town, walk acts will be out and about. Visitors may cross paths with an entire orchestra on a giant tandem, the "Lange Gust" making its playful way through the crowds, or "Jochen", the little elephant on a tricycle which will delight the young guests. Particularly impressive: the herd of machines - futuristic animals constructed from numerous bicycles.

A stage programme will also be setting the tone for the Tour with the "Düsseldorfer Tour-Hymne" (Düsseldorf Tour anthem) by the Group "Pralinchen" (little chocolates). Unlike the name suggests, three grown men will here give musical expression to their delight at the Grand Départ. On an action area, unicyclists, among others from the Düsseldorf-based club "Frisch auf", will demonstrate their skills, and the duo "Cycling Cirkus" will present their dizzying artistry. At 6 p.m., the famous boogie-woogie pianist Sascha Klaar will play the final chords. And at 7 p.m. the Nacht der Museen is set to start…

"Bonjour le Tour" ends with the "Nacht der Museen" (museums night)
A further highlight of the action programme is the 17th edition of the "Nacht der Museen" on the evening of 25 March. Here, the visitors will experience art, culture and, of course Le Tour.
 
Around 40 museums, galleries and off-spaces open their doors from 7 pm to 2 am. For 14 Euros admission, new cultural hotspots can be discovered or your favourite museum experienced in a new light: the exhibitions will be accompanied by music, performances, readings, films and culinary experiences. The shuttle bus for convenient location hopping is included. The special feature in 2017: many participating establishments and institutions will be taking up the theme of the "Tour de France", "Bicycle" or "France", thus providing the sport with an exceptional framework. Thus, for example, at the association Metzgerei Schnitzel e.V. you not only get to ride the pedal-powered printing machine "Radldruckmaschine", but also become an artist whilst doing so. At Schloss Benrath you can experience the sport first hand and take a spin on a racing bike simulator. And at the Town Hall, things are also getting into gear – among other things with guided tours and bicycle racing illustrations. Info.: www.nacht-der-museen.de

"Nacht der Museen": fascination of the Tour in the Town Hall
Under the title "Faszination Tour de France – die Helden der Landstraße – gestern und heute!" (Fascination Tour de France - the heroes of the country road - yesterday and today!), illustrations by Horst Brozy will be on display in the Town Hall. Every year in July, the world's biggest cycling spectacle casts a spell over spectators for three weeks. Joy and sorrow go hand in hand when heroes and myths are born. The exhibition gives an insight into the souls of the cycling heroes. As befits the theme, the original racing bike of last year’s victor and triple-winner of the Tour, Christopher Froome, will be on display in the Town Hall. The top cyclist last rode the bike at his victory in 2015. In the foyer, a work by the photographic artist Andreas Gursky with the title "Gurskys, Tour de France II, 2016" will be on display. The "bicycle" theme will be rounded off with photos and pictures from Düsseldorf’s City Archives. This includes a little log book of the Düsseldorf-based company "Velociped" from 1869. In addition, two other exhibitions will be on display in the Town Hall: the artists Corinna Theuring and Stephan Anders will be showing objects and sculptures. The motifs of Corinna Theuring’s sculptures are as unconventional as they are extraordinary. The sculptures show portraits of people as you might encounter them on the street; however, attention is drawn to the bizarre, and strange attributes detract from the severity of the figures. In his sculptures and plastic art, Stephan Anders captures the dynamism of cycling.

The use of bike parts to mould and construct sculptures makes the reference to the subject even clearer for the viewer. The exhibition "Spur der Steine" (trace of stones) can also be seen in the Town Hall. For this, the promotional society Förderkreis Industriepfad Düsseldorf has brought Düsseldorf’s brick production and brick architecture into context for the first time. The Nacht der Museen also provides an opportunity to find out about the history of the town. During the day, from 12 a.m. and then in the evening from 7 p.m. there will be guided tours of Düsseldorf’s Town Hall (from 6 to 7 p.m. there will be no guided tours).

Starting shot for the Petit Départ at the university sports ground in Wersten
It’s all systems go on Saturday, 25 March, 11 a.m. with the "Petit Départ". The Lord Mayor Thomas Geisel and Tour Director Christian Prudhomme will fire the starting shot for the children’s competition with the sponsor Harald Christ at the university sports ground in Wersten, Universitätsstraße. This is a cycling competition for children between the ages of eight and twelve. In three disciplines - the circuit race, the sprint test and the obstacle course - the participants are able to demonstrate their endurance, speed and skills. The winners of the six preliminaries will compete against each other on 1 July in the supporting programme of the Grand Départ. The boys and girls born in the years 2007 and 2008 and in the years 2005 and 2006 will be judged separately. Participation is free of charge.

In this way, in the run-up to the Grand Départ of the Tour de France, children are to be introduced to cycling as a sport. The focus is to be on fun and exercise. So that all the participants have the same odds, however, no racing bikes are allowed at the Petit Départ. Helmets are also compulsory. All the participating children receive a T-shirt and a medal. The kick-off event in Wersten is booked out with 100 children. For the other five events, registrations are still welcome. Registration is possible until 3 April at: www.duesseldorf 2017.de/petitdepart
 
Premiere of the bicycle flea market in postPOST
Under the motto "Just sell or buy your bike!" on Saturday, March 25, postPOST – Grand Central, the former post office distribution centre behind the main railway station in Düsseldorf’s town centre, opens its doors to the first big bicycle flea market. From 12 a.m. to 12 p.m, everyone can offer their old bikes for sale – and the best thing is, you don’t have to be there in person. Because at the bicycle flea market you can drop your bike off the day before (or last minute on the day of the event). The bicycle flea market team carries out the sale on site for a small commission. At the end of the event (or on the next day) you can then simply pick up the money (or the unsold bike).

"postPOST – Grand Central" is the ideal venue: on a vast area with over 5,000 square metres there is plenty of space for countless bikes and a hoard of visitors. Test rides are possible indoors in all weathers. The bicycle flea market is rounded off by a diverse range of catering as well as music and activities which revolves around the theme of cycling. The market is an official part of the "Grand Départ" programme of the state capital of Düsseldorf. And after 7 p.m., postPost is to be one of the venues for the "Düsseldorf Nacht der Museen" (museums night) with its additional programme. There you can see historic bicycles and biking acrobatics with freestyle bikers until 12 p.m. The musicians of the ART Ensemble NRW don’t just play their traditional instruments, but also make music with spokes, bicycle frames, tires etc. Info.: www.velo-flohmarkt.de

NRW forum launches free bike sharing initiative
More bicycles for Düsseldorf: together with the Kreativbüro Denken3000, the NRW Forum is launching the campaign Free Bikes, a bike sharing initiative which makes bikes available free of charge. The starting shot will be fired on 25 March on the "Nacht der Museen" and in celebration of the forthcoming Grand Départ in Düsseldorf. The bikes can be picked up and returned at a total of four stations. Alongside the launch pad at the NRW Forum, there are bike stations at Grabbeplatz (Kunsthalle art gallery), at the Rhine (KIT – Kunst im Tunnel) and on Jahnstraße (FFT Kammerspiele theatre). At 10 p.m., the Free-Bikes Aftershow Party in the NRWForum is set to start with "Best-of-Bike-Music".

All Düsseldorfers who would like to support the campaign are invited to hand their old or unused bicycles in to the NRW Forum. The bikes will be repaired, spiced up and become part of a new sharing-culture. As a thank you, the donors receive free entry to the NRW Forum, a Free-Bikes poster and the revamped bikes are baptised in the names of their donors. Free Bikes is not to be a one-off event, but is also to establish itself as a permanent bike sharing system in the city after the "Nacht der Museen". Info.: free-bikes.de/

Photo exhibition on the Tour de France in the Institut français
The Institut français Düsseldorf, Bilker Straße 7, will also be accompanying the Grand Départ 2017 on 25 March with projects and activities on all aspects of the start of the Tour de France. Thus, within the framework of the "Nacht der Museen", a photo exhibition is to be held on the subject of "cycling". Under the title "Velolavie", photographs by the photographer Xavier Lambours can be seen which show portraits of spectators, amateurs and week enders at the bicycle race Paris-Roubaix and the Tour des France in the north of France with humour and poetry. The French language can also be experienced afresh in the Institut français with the "French dictations".  Furthermore, short films are to be shown at the Franco-German festival, accompanied by DJ music.

Bicycle rallies of the ADFC
Fun for young and old: The cycling club Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad Club (ADFC) is offering guided bicycle rallies in celebration of the start of the Tour-de-France in Düsseldorf. For example, on 25 March a rally is offered at the "Bonjour le Tour" event. The route is about 15 kilometres long. The start and finish is Café Velo at Marktplatz. The rally starts at 11 a.m. Info.: www.adfc-nrw.de/kreisverbaende/kv-duesseldorf/adfcduesseldorf

Trade fair "Cyclingworld Düsseldorf" in the Areal Böhler
On the 200th birthday of the bicycle, alongside the Tour de France, a new trade fair is also to be launched in the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia: the "Cyclingworld Düsseldorf". On 25 and 26 March 2017 in the old forge at Areal Böhler, Hansaallee 321, everything will revolve around the mobile product which Karl Drais “kicked off” with his idea in the year 1817. The opening hours of the "Cyclingworld Düsseldorf": daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Further information is available in the Internet at: www.cyclingworld.de