Artists, community groups and schools have been urged to get creative and think of ways to make the most of £1 million in funds for a 100-day arts festival to tie in with the Tour De France’s Grand Depart.

Today the Arts Council announced that it would fund the event, which is being held throughout Yorkshire in the run-up to the cycle race next July.

And if tourism group Welcome to Yorkshire has its way, that fund could soon double as organisations across the county match fund that figure.

The Tour will pass through Keighley, Ilkley, Haworth, Silsden and numerous other towns and villages across the district, but before that the route will be transformed by an arts and cultural festival.

Now funding has been secured, communities can ask for a share.

Cluny Macpherson, regional director for the Arts Council, said: “It will showcase all that is great about Yorkshire arts and culture as well as providing an opportunity for specially-commissioned work.

“I can’t think of a better way to mark the historic occasion of the Grand Depart taking place in Yorkshire.”

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said the event will “put Yorkshire on the map” for millions of people.

Lorna Bird, who organises Ilkley Arts Trail, said the festival was a huge opportunity for the local arts community to come together and enjoy the spotlight.

She said: “We’ve had a recent artists’ network and we were looking at how we could get involved in the Tour. We had the idea of an art competition with the themes of speed and racing, but it is still early days.

“This funding will be a real incentive for artists who might work in isolation, they can really benefit from collaborating with other artists. Lets get together to contribute to this. It is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and it is coming through our area.”

She said the funding would boost their ideas, adding: “If you’re going to do something, you want to do something impressive.”

Councillor Adrian Naylor is involved in preparations for the tour in the Addingham and Silsden areas and hopes schools can be given some of the funding.

He said: “Now we know the funding is there, we’re able to work with the schools and find out what they want to do.

“The various communities need to come together so we have complementary activities rather than competing activities.”

Welcome To Yorkshire is looking for a director to oversee the festival and has asked for anyone with ideas and events to visit letour.yorkshire.com/artsfestival to register suggestions.