Yorkshire’s bid to host the start of the 2016 Tour de France has been handed a boost after French President François Hollande indicated his support.

The Yorkshire bid team were in Paris at the weekend as Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to win cycling’s greatest event.

They have already had over 150,000 pledges of support and the Telegraph reports President Hollande offering his support during a meeting in Paris with Labour leader Ed Miliband, who is MP for Doncaster North.

Mr Miliband raised Bradley Wiggins’ triumph in the Tour and the bid by Yorkshire to bring the bike race to the North of England with President Hollande.

“The president was ‘very supportive’,” Mr Miliband was quoted as saying afterwards by the Telegraph, adding: “It would be a good thing for Yorkshire. It would be a great thing for my constituency. I am backing le bid.”

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, who is leading the bid to bring the Tour de France to the county was understandably delighted by the news, told Sky Sports: “We have strong cross-party political support within the county to make this happen and now we have the support of President François Hollande, which is great news for our bid.

“Yorkshire is seen by many as the spiritual heartland of cycling in the UK, we have the cycling heritage, we have the champions and we are race ready to host Le Tour. It would be an honour to bring the race back to England and host it in our great county and we are working hard to make that happen.”

Heathrow Airport staff are set to receive £700 for working during the Olympic Games and the Paralympics, herbal next month. 

It is another victory for Rail and Maritime Transport Union. 

Critics of the award of Olympic ‘bonuses’ for transport staff claim they are nothing more than bribes. 

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “This is another important agreement secured by our negotiators which recognises the crucial role that Heathrow Express staff will play throughout the Games period. 

“Our members deserve every extra penny for helping to deliver services throughout the biggest transport challenge that London has ever faced over the coming weeks.” 

The award is an incentive, insisted a Heathrow Express spokeswoman. 
“Heathrow Express has put in place a ‘Games Incentive Reward Scheme’ which pays out if additional passenger volumes and revenues occur on specific ‘peak’ days during the 2012 Games period. 

“The incentive rewards the additional effort required to deliver a great service to all our customers during the 2012 Games.” 

Transport workers in the capital have won a series of deals for an Olympic bonus, although thousands of bus drivers and other employees have voted to go on strike over a claim for a payment of £500.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has unveiled plans for a $9.8 million redevelopment of Queens Wharf, click which will become the centre of Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011) festivities in Auckland.

In 2011, patient Queens Wharf will be the largest of Auckland’s four RWC 2011 Fanzones, featuring open areas and a multi-purpose temporary facility named “The Cloud”.

“For six weeks next year Queens Wharf will be a hub of activity for our international visitors and New Zealanders. It will be a place where we watch Rugby games, enjoy live music and festival events, wow international guests and media with views of Auckland’s stunning harbour, and showcase the best of New Zealand with displays and events,” said Mr Key.

Made from steel, timber, glass and opaque PVC, the structure will be 180 metres long and 4,430m2 , with space to hold around 6,000 people.

“This is an exciting design, which alongside developments in the [area], will do a great job opening up the Auckland waterfront to the public and the 85,000 overseas visitors that will travel here for RWC 2011.”

Events scheduled to be held at the venue include a New Zealand food and beverage show, textile and agritech displays and fashion shows. A mezzanine space would be used to host VIPs and as an international media lounge.

The building will also include a Tourism New Zealand i-Site, where trained staff will help to promote the REAL New Zealand Festival, staged alongside RWC 2011, as well as regional and national tourist attractions.

Queens Wharf was purchased in 2009 by the New Zealand Government and Auckland Regional Council for $40 million with the long term view of opening up the area for the people of Auckland. The historic Shed 10 will be refurbished and remain on site.

The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, unveiled Istanbul’s logo for their bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

The new logo, voted for by the people of Turkey, combines the flower of Istanbul, a tulip, with the world-famous skyline of Istanbul.

The Prime Minister said: “As a government, we are very involved in promoting and supporting the Istanbul 2020 bid. Turkey has the ambition, potential and infrastructure required to host the 2020 Games.”

The inspiration behind the new logo design comes from the bridge that Istanbul forms between Europe and Asia, with the bottom half of the flower representing Asia and the top half showing Europe.

If the 2020 bid was successful, it would be the first time a single Games is held across two continents.

Hasan Arat, leader of Istanbul 2020, said: “A vibrant and young nation, a bridge between Europe and Asia, a modern and spectacular setting steeped in history – these are the ideas we wanted the Istanbul 2020 Candidate City logo to represent and our people have not let us down with their vote.

“Our new logo has been chosen by Turkey’s young population to act as a symbol of inspiration for our Olympic dream”.

Istanbul 2020 says the logo combines a distinctive turquoise, the symbol of Turkish culture, with a brilliant orange to show the spectacular and exciting setting side of the city.

Central London will be a no-go zone fot motorists during the London Olympics due to the work being implemented for Olympic Route Network (ORN).

Transport for London (TfL) today set out detailed plans for the implementation and operation of the ORN, a 109-mile network of roads linking Games venues in London. Motorists will be able to use some lanes on these roads at all times, while others will be open only at certain times of the day.

Among the 109 miles will be 30 miles of Games Lanes, for the exclusive use of vehicles carrying the Games Family, which includes athletes, officials and media.
London’s transport commissioner Peter Hendy said: “During the Games, London will be turned into a massive sporting and cultural venue. We have plans in place to get all athletes, officials and the world’s media to their Games events on time and to keep London moving and open for business.

“From-mid July, central London and areas around Games venues will be much busier than usual.

“The ORN, which is part of the Host City contract for the Games, will be a vital part of managing the busy roads and delivering a great Games.

“Our advice to motorists is clear. From mid-July, avoid driving in central London, around the ORN and Games venues.”

The ORN will come into force on July 25, and will end a couple of days after the Games. The smaller Paralympic route Network (PRN) will be in operation from a couple of days before the start of the Paralympic Games.

Onces Games events are completed at venues, such as Wimbledon, the ORN will be removed.

From July 1 road marking will start to be put down along the ORN, and adjustment to more than 1,300 sets of traffic lights will also begin on the same date.
TfL says these adjustments will have minimal impact on road users as they will be balanced out by the complete ban on all planned road works along the ORN and on all A and B roads.

From July 7 there will be a reversal of traffic flow in Kingsway Tunnel, Aldwych. Traffic through the tunnel will temporarily flow southbound only through this link of the ORN, which will aid movement between the media hub in Bloomsbury and Games venues.

The temporary reversal will be removed in mid August after the Olympic Games, and is not required for the Paralympic Games.

From July 16 the M4 Games Lane will come into operation as athletes, officials and media begin to arrive in London in significant numbers.

The major, physical ORN build and implementation works begin on July 20, and will take four days. These works will include the installation of barriers to simplify junctions.

Overnight on July 24 the designated standalone pedestrian crossings and parking/loading bays along the ORN will be suspended and blocked off.
The ORN and the Games Lanes will be in operation and will be enforced from 6am to midnight from July 25.

Motorists are advised to plan their journeys using the Get Ahead of the Games website.