Newcastle and Gateshead bid for World Cup glory
Jun 29 2009 by Adam Jupp, The Journal
THE imagery that will front moves to bring World Cup football to Tyneside is being revealed today.
Newcastle and Gateshead are bidding to become a host city as part of Englands plans to stage the 2018 or 2022 tournaments.
Sunderland is also in the running to hold group stage games and last week officially launched its campaign at the Stadium of Light.
Today, the logo to be used for the Newcastle Gateshead bid is unveiled for the first time in The Journal, as former Newcastle United captain Alan Shearer leads calls for the North East public to do their bit in support.
He said: Leading out England during the 1998 World Cup Finals in France was a great honour for me. To play in the biggest tournament of all is a dream for every footballer.
To see St Jamess Park named as a World Cup venue for 2018 would be fantastic and fitting for such a great stadium. Fans coming to Newcastle for World Cup matches would be guaranteed the warmest of welcomes and be able to experience the passion we have for football here in the North East.
Newcastle Gateshead announced in May it was submitting a bid to host World Cup games as part of Englands moves to stage either the 2018 or 2022 tournaments.
If the bid is successful, images of Tyneside will be beamed across the world to an estimated worldwide TV audience of 24 billion viewers in 240 countries.
The event will generate huge international interest in Newcastle Gateshead, bringing an estimated s24.9m into the North East economy, with thousands of high-spending tourists visiting the region during the month-long tournament.
To be a host, cities must have a stadium that can hold a minimum of 40,000 people, sufficient hotel accommodation for teams, officials and fans and good travel links, as well as training facilities and potential base camps for national teams.
Newcastle Gatesheads logo shows the Angel of the North kicking a ball, which arches over the River Tyne to illustrate some of Tynesides most iconic sights. The image will be highly visible during a six-month campaign until December, when the Football Association announces Englands Candidate Host Cities and venues for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup events.
The Newcastle Gateshead Candidate Host City bid is a collaboration between Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council, NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Newcastle United Football Club and others.
Leader of Newcastle City Council Coun John Shipley said: Bidding for the World Cup is an opportunity to put the iconic cityscape of Newcastle Gateshead on a world stage.
