The town’s proposal is unveiled today under the Durham Miners’ Association motto: “The past we inherit, the future we build.”
Organisers aim to generate 2,500 jobs and attract 15 million extra visitors, bringing in £700million.
A space festival will mark 1,300 years of innovation, from Bede’s astronomy to Durham University’s recent work on the James Webb space telescope. The Police star Sting, born in Tyneside, said the region “has been overlooked for decades”.
He said: “For Durham to be selected would provide a much needed spotlight on this unique and important culture that is the North East.”
Author Bill Bryson, a former chancellor of Durham University, said there was nowhere else “more sumptuously packed with natural beauty, architectural magnificence and
cultural vibrancy”.
