THE TOUR DE FRANCE IN DENMARK: THE YELLOW FEVER

The northernmost Grand Départ of the Tour de France led to a popular craze that exceeded all expectations. From the teams’ presentation in the heart of Copenhagen to the finish of stage 3 in Sonderborg, the riders were treated to a noisy, warm and respectful honor hedge of more than 400 kilometers. The Danish television channel TV2 recorded an average market share of 78% during the first three stages. Never seen before!  

02/07/2022 - Tour de France 2022 - Etape 2 - Roskilde / Nyborg (202,2km) -
02/07/2022 - Tour de France 2022 - Etape 2 - Roskilde / Nyborg (202,2km) - © A.S.O./Pauline Ballet

The tears of Jonas Vingegaard, touched by the welcome he received in the Tivoli theme park, are already part of the iconography of the 2022 Tour de France. Spectators who did not have the privilege of being among the 15,000 present for the teams’ presentation then flocked to the sidewalks of Copenhagen, defying the rain that watered the time trial in the heart of the capital on Friday afternoon. They were even more numerous to witness the conquest of the polka-dot jersey by Magnus Cort between Roskilde and Nyborg, then to greet their new national hero, who escaped alone towards Sonderborg. About two million Danes travelled to watch the race during this unprecedented sequence, out of a total population of around six million.But what did the Danes who didn’t attend the Tour de France between 1st and 3rd July do? The figures published by the national channel TV2 indicate that they have largely followed the stages of the Tour in front of their screens, since the market shares reached up to 86% of the people who turned on their television. A peak of 1,100,000 viewers was even recorded for the finish in Sonderborg, just before Dylan Groenewegen’s sprint victory. A way to greet the peloton massively before flying to the French territory.

 

 Frederik Lauesen, Head of Sports at TV2 Denmark:

“It has been a fairytale for us at TV2 Denmark to experience and to cover the Tour de France’s visit in Denmark. We know that the Danish people love the tour, but the incredible interest from the team presentation in Tivoli Gardens to the stages in our country has after all surprised us in a very positive way. The Danish people have shown their love for the Tour in a way, we would never dream of. The images of the streets and roads full of enthusiastic crowds literally all the way from start to finish will remain with us forever. This was a once in a lifetime experience in many ways and we are equally proud and humble at TV 2 to have played our part in this. We will forever be thankful to the Tour de France and the passionate people who worked hard to make this happen”

“The viewing figures are extremely high, and we are very pleased. It is safe to say that a great number of the Danish people has taken part in this fantastic event and enjoyed the visit of the world greatest cycling race either along the streets or on our platforms.”

 Julien Goupil, Head of medias and partnerships at A.S.O.:

“It was absolutely fantastic to see such a big Danish crowd. The audiences of TV2, historical partner of the Tour (since 1989) are absolutely exceptional and confirm our desire to make the Tour de France accessible to as many people as possible by broadcasting it on free-to-air generalist channels in Europe thanks to the partnership established with Eurovision Sport. These impressive results in terms of audience concern both the broadcast of the live feed of the first three stages and the traffic on TV2’s digital platforms, which has quadrupled. More than ever, the race has attracted crowds, either on the roadsides or in front of TV. A market share of 78% on average… Never seen before!”

 

Key numbers:

- During the first three days of the Tour de France, TV2/TV2 PLAY has been in contact with 2,362,000 Danes across stages and studio broadcasts. That’s almost a doubling compared to the interest we saw for the Tour’s first three days last year.

- The first three stages are seen by an average of 767,000 Danes (viewer shares from 72 percent to 86 percent) and at the 3rd stage - at the end of the route - the number of viewers peaks with 1,095,000 Danes who follow the final sprint through Sønderborg.

- The stages are the most viewed 1-3. stages ever, and for all Tour stages, we need to look back more than 10 years to find similar levels.

- On TV2.DK & apps, the interest is also overwhelming, with the first three days of the Tour de France content showing a quadrupling of traffic compared to previous years. 

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