THE director of a cultural festival being organised to celebrate the opening stages of the Tour de France coming to Yorkshire has stepped down from the £55,000-a-year role.

Maria Bota took up the position last August on a 12-month contract but has now been replaced by executive producer Henrietta Duckworth, who joined the Welcome To Yorkshire team organising the Yorkshire Festival 2014 in December.

The tourism agency said the pre-Christmas change was “mutually agreed”.

The cultural programme will mark the 100-day countdown to the Grand Depart being held in Yorkshire on July 5 and 6, backed by about £1 million in Arts Council funding. In a statement, Welcome To Yorkshire said: “Maria Bota did a fantastic job commissioning the festival, and as agreed when she joined the team, she took a month-long holiday over Christmas and New Year.

“Commissioning one of the biggest cultural festivals in the UK was a huge undertaking. Maria put in place a terrific programme which touches almost every part of our county and includes a wide range of cultural activity.”

Ms Bota said: “I am delighted the programme is being so well received and I was also very impressed, during my handover last year, by Henrietta Duckworth who I know will do a brilliant job delivering the programme.”