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More than 10,000 people filled out the venue to see a presentation from the 22 teams taking part in the historic cycling competition.
Before the ceremony, 198 cyclists including defending British champion Chris Froome rode through from Leeds University to the arena surrounded by crowds of supporters. The ceremony was broadcast on ITV’s regional news and was presented by sports journalists Jill Douglas and Sebastien Piquet.
The show also included performances from ex-Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh, who sang the Yorkshire Grand Départ’s official anthem The Road with singer-songwriter Alistair Griffin, and local band Hope & Social, who were joined on stage by a roller-skating choir. Yorkshire band Embrace closed the ceremony with a setlist of four songs.
Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, said at the ceremony: "It is, in Yorkshire, the most northern Grand Départ in the history of the race, just one year after the most southern start on the French island of Corsica in the Mediterranean sea.
"Thank you for helping us spread the Tour fever further and further. I am thrilled and I am impressed with what you have done, and I haven’t even seen everything for sure."
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