THE Lord Mayor of York welcomed the York Concert Band to the city's historic Mansion House ahead of their journey to Paris to play at the closing ceremony of the Tour de France.

The band will play in front of the Eiffel Tower as the riders of the Tour de France pass over the finish line of the worlds largest cycle race and were given a letter from the Lord Mayor, Cllr Ian Gillies to pass on to the Mayor of Paris who they will meet as part of the trip.

As part of the celebrations of the TdF coming to York, the band performed at Huntington stadium ahead of the Grand Départ . Their trip to France will see them playing on the Champ de Mars, in front of the Eiffel Tower on Sunday (27 July), the day that the race finishes on the Champs-Élysées.

Cllr Gillies said: “I am looking forward to welcoming the York Concert Band to the Mansion House ahead of what promises to be an exciting journey for them. The Tour de France coming to our city captivated everyone and I hope the band enjoy their trip to Paris and what promises to be an exciting climax to this year’s Tour de France."