The Radio 5 competition to find the station’s own city of 2012 shadows the competition to award city status to one of 25 towns that have put in a bid as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

An entire programme featuring the winning town will be broadcast on Radio 5 later this year. Nominations for Gateshead can be made online via the Radio 5 website until 15 January.

Leader of Gateshead Council, Mick Henry, said: “This competition might not have any bearing on the real race to become Britain’s newest city in 2012, but it’s a great opportunity to tell the nation about everything Gateshead has to offer.

“You never know, perhaps some of the decision makers might just be swayedwhen they hear about our heritage, our Royal connections, our iconic landmarks and our ambitions for the future.”

“I’d ask anyone who is passionate about Gateshead, and the wider area, to take a moment out of their day to nominate.”

It’s a common misconception that towns must have a cathedral before they can be considered for city status. But this has not been the case for over a century and Gateshead’s city credentials are very strong.

Gateshead’s ground-breaking regeneration is recognised throughout the world. The Angel of the North, Gateshead Millennium Bridge, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and The Sage Gateshead have all become icons of the transformation that has taken place, as well as being major tourist attractions. Almost eight million visitors come to Gateshead each year, spending over £475m.

Gateshead is also a major centre for retail, engineering and creative industries. Metrocentre attracts almost 23 million visitors a year and work is due to start soon on a £150m redevelopment in Gateshead Centre by Spenhill. World-renowned companies such as Komatsu and bank note producer De La Rue send their products across the globe from Gateshead. Some of the world’s most popular computer games around are created in Gateshead by companies like Eutechnyx, and projects like the Northern Design Centre and the fastest broadband network in Britain are well advanced.

These cutting-edge developments stand cheek by jowl with Gateshead’s impressive history, which almost certainly dates back to a Roman settlement on the banks of the Tyne and was first documented in the year 653 AD by the Venerable Bede.

What was arguably the first purpose-built railway locomotive in the world was built in Pipewellgate in 1805 and Tanfield Railway, the world’s oldest, is also based in Gateshead. Joseph Swan’s house, Underhill, in the Low Fell area of Gateshead was the first home in the world to be lit by electricity.

Gateshead also has some important royal links. The Queen Mother’s family, the Bowes-Lyons, owned the Gibside Estate, which is now a National Trust attraction.

Gateshead submitted its bid in May last year, alongside other contenders including Middlesbrough, Reading, Southend and Perth, and the next successful city will be announced to coincide with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations later this year.

The Radio 5 website for nominations is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/5live/cityquestion/">www.bbc.co.uk/5live/cityquestion|