Bidding Benefits and How to Pledge Your Support
At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, 32 teams played 64 matches across 31 days. The total attandance over the course of the tournament was 3.36 million with an additional 18.4 million watching games in the fans parks across the country. On top of that, the tournament drew a global audience of 24 billion viewers from 240 countries.
In Germany, the tournament added an extra £250m to its national economy with 100,000 extra visitors to each city, creating 50,000 new jobs. On top of that there is also the untold impact that holding such a large tournament had on increasing physical activity.
Other cities that are bidding to be selected as one of the host cities should England's bid be successful include Sheffield, Leeds, Hull, Bristol, Portsmouth, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, London and others.
Rival countries that are submitting bids for the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup include - Russia, Spain and Portugal (joint bid), Mexico, Australia and US.
You can pledge your support for the bid by doing one of the following:
- Registering online at www.england2018bid.com and selecting either 'NewcastleGateshead' or 'Sunderland'
- Text either 'NewcastleGateshead' or 'Sunderland' to 62018
- Visit the Facebook pages of the bids by clicking here and here
