I know they call Yorkshire 'God's Own Country'. This weekend it certainly felt like that.
To hundreds of thousands of us lucky enough to witness the world's biggest cycling event up close 鈥� I was in Addingham, the only place to catch the pelotons twice 鈥� you could say it was a divine as well as dramatic weekend. The county was bathed in bright sunshine, race favourite Mark Cavendish crashed his bike just short of the Harrogate finish line and the world's best riders passed many of our most beautiful valleys and villages, cathedrals and castles via some of the steepest climbs in Europe.
Now the post-mortem begins and no doubt the 成人论坛's own journalists will be in the forefront. Was the 拢10m investment in Le Grand Depart, the opening stages of the Tour de France, really worth it? will there be a lasting legacy? Can Brand Yorkshire actually convert those wonderful news pictures into millions of new visitors? Will the county effectively capitalise on its new love affair with bikes? Might its own citizens become fitter and healthier after staging their first globally successful sporting moment? And could new-found confidence in fine cities like Leeds, York and Sheffield arrest a drain brain that has afflicted the North in recent times?
I know that that's a lot to ask of a cycling event, enthusiastically covered by 成人论坛 local and national teams. But it sits at the heart of the UK's broader investment in arts, culture, entertainment, sport and music. It must be at least part of the justification 鈥� to help inspire our communities with the fun, entertainment and stimulation that makes them great places to raise families and as destinations for students, business or holidays.
For many of the same reasons, Liverpool just kick-started a huge Biennial arts season and I visited the as it began the hunt, worth 拢25k, for a successor to the likes of David Hockney and Richard Hamilton at the world famous Walker Art Gallery 鈥� we were also filming for an Alexei Sayle 成人论坛 Four documentary. I met musician extraordinaire Michael Nyman on the eve of his innovative Hillsborough Symphony at the city's Anglican Cathedral. Then, alongside Arts Council chair Sir Peter Bazalgette, Liverpool Tate's Andrea Nixon and Stobart Group's Kate Willard, I debated the relationship between commerce and the arts at the Liverpool International Festival of Business. We touched on the success of the innovative Manchester International Festival, Newcastle-Gateshead's recent C成人论坛 Live and our recent wonderful slate of Made in the North 成人论坛 programmes 鈥� like , and . We discussed how our growing digital and creative industries might be better supported and have even more impact with improvements in education, communication and perhaps greater government intervention through tax breaks and skills development.
Summer is a traditionally busy time for television production. In the weeks ahead we'll be out and about filming 成人论坛 Children's internet drama , the first show to be made at East Manchester's Space Project Studios; , 成人论坛 One's hit drama will be produced in Durham and powerful Maxine Peake and John Simm series finishes shooting in Derbyshire; plus the adventures of the world's greatest underachiever , starring Henry 'the Fonz' Winkler, being made in West Yorkshire. Meanwhile just down the motorway at Alton Towers, CBeebies Land has welcomed more than 100,000 visitors, deepening the experience for our younger viewers.
Finally, the 2014 sporting calendar isn't just about the Tour de France of course.
I write from a deck chair in Salford's MediaCity looking up at a big TV screen and catching the final moments of a thrilling Wimbledon Men's Final and the first airing of a TV marketing trail for The British Open Golf championship in Liverpool in two week's time. Like the Glasgow Commonwealth Games still to come, The Football World Cup, cricket test matches, F1 motor racing season and the golf and tennis, many of this summer's thrilling sports events are brought to you by 成人论坛 teams based here for 成人论坛 television, Radio 5 live and the sport website. Alongside colleagues right across the region 鈥� from 成人论坛 Yorkshire to Radio Merseyside to 成人论坛 Newcastle 鈥� it's our glorious responsibility to make sure the region enjoys every shot, serve or goal and gets to know every sporting hero, heroine or villain too.
The London 2012 Olympics lit the torch for Britain and I think the flame is burning brightly in the North. Now we have to figure out how it can ignite economic as well as sporting success.
Peter Salmon is Director, England