Steve DownesMonths of hard work comes to a head today when the team behind Norwich's bid to become the first UK City of Culture in 2013 makes its final pitch to the judging panel.Support Norwich on FacebookOfficial Norwich 2013 bid websiteSteve Downes

Months of hard work comes to a head today when the team behind Norwich's bid to become the first UK City of Culture in 2013 makes its final pitch to the judging panel.

Our fine city is vying with Birmingham, Sheffield and Derry-Londonderry and is being seen as a leading contender for the prize which would see it hosting a year-long international arts festival and be worth an estimated �215m to the local economy.

Famous names who have thrown their weight behind Norwich's bid include actor, writer and TV host Stephen Fry, writers Ian McEwan, Frederick Forsyth and Amit Chaudhuri, actress Miranda Raison, West End theatre producer Richard Jordan, and celebrity chefs Delia Smith and Marco Pierre White.

The delegation is led by Steve Morphew, leader of Norwich City Council, Laura McGillivray, chief executive of the city council, Jonathan Holloway, director of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, Marcus Patteson from Norwich Community Arts, Ian Johnson from Access to Music, and Chris Gribble from Writers' Centre Norwich.

Norwich's bid 'A Whole City Experiment' features world premieres, pop concerts, light shows, mass street feasts and music, dancing and writing from around the world and would involve all communities in the city.

Phil Redmond, creative director of Liverpool's 2008 Capital of Culture, is chairing the independent advisory panel which will receive presentations from the four finalists.

t For a full report of Norwich's efforts, see tomorrow's paper.

Support Norwich on FacebookOfficial Norwich 2013 bid website