Hucknall gets up to speed for Tour of Britain

Emma Petkovic and Joe Saville of The Joker Entertainment were on hand to show off their unicycling skills in Hucknall ahead of the race.

Dancers from the Believe Academy kicked off ‘Hucknall Rocks The Tour’ at 10.30am, which as well as live music from the likes of “Queens of Rock” and Joshua Turner, will also feature the final of the ‘Active Ashfield Factor’ competition, showcasing an array of local talent.

Residents and traders were encouraged to decorate their homes and shops with yellow bunting and flags, and a prize for the best shopfront has been awarded to Goldfinger Jewellers.

Singers from the Torkard Ensemble’s choir entertained the crowds with stirring renditions of Mr Blue Sky, by ELO, One Day Like This, by Elbow, As Torrents in Summer, by Edward Elgar, and soloist Rebecca Clarke’s version of Ave Maria, while the theme from Mission Impossible

Torkard Ensemble's choir entertained the crowds in Hucknall marketplace ahead of the Tour of Britain's arrival

Chair Sally Watson said the choir had “piggy-backed” on to the celebrations to launch their ten-day Hucknall Makes Music Festival.

Councillor Phil Rostance said: “It’s shown a really good send of community. Normally it’s every man for himself - but this and the Christmas lights switch-on really bring people together.

“Last year the tour came through in the week and people were at work. - but this time we hope we’ll have much bigger turn-out.”

This year’s longest stage of the race departed from West Bridgford at 10.45am and is due to hurtle through Hucknall, sometime after 3pm.

Riders will pedal an astonishing 215.6 kilometres to the finishing line in Mansfield, which hosted a stage start in 2017.