Tyneside kicks off World Cup bid

Following the launch last week of Sunderland’s bid to become a host city for the football World Cup in 2018 or 2022, the Tyneside contingent has today unveiled its campaign logo and reinforced its desire to put in its own bid.

Newcastle and Gateshead have joined forces to put in a Tyneside bid to host World Cup Football in one of the future tournaments. Sunderland revealed its bid on Friday, and the two locations are hoping the bids will provide a boost to the region’s tourism sector, as well as the wider economy.

The Newcastle and Gateshead campaign logo focuses on iconic images of Tyneside, including the Angel of the North and the River Tyne itself.

John Shipley, Leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “Bidding for the World Cup is an opportunity to put the iconic cityscape of NewcastleGateshead on a world stage. It’s a real chance to showcase our offering of sports stadia, training camps, conference and hotel facilities, and our road, rail, air and sea travel links to a global audience.

“The economic benefit to Tyneside will be enormous. Matches would be beamed worldwide from St James’ Park, giving us a massive opportunity to showcase our Host City.” The bid team believes that hosting games in the region could bring economic contribution in the tourism sector estimated at £24.9million, with thousands of high-spending tourists visiting North East England during the month-long tournament.

Sporting support

The bids also have support from the football community, with Newcastle United’s Alan Shearer backing the Newcastle and Gateshead campaign, and Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn throwing his weight behind the Wearside bid.

Alan Shearer said: “To see St. James’ 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.”

Niall Quinn, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “There are so many good things in Sunderland, but they have been bottled up within the region for a long time now, and this for me is the showcase opportunity to make the city a modern city.

“I believe there is something extra to this region. The Sunderland people and the people of the region - I shouldn’t just stick to Sunderland, I should talk about Tyneside, I should talk about Durham, talk about Teesside, Tees Valley, Northumberland, all these places - when that passion and that football passion starts to show itself, that will be a big feather in the FA’s cap.”

To find out more about the bid, go to www.england2018bid.com.