Representatives from Bristol City football club and Bristol City Council will rub shoulders with David Beckham and Prime Minister Gordon Brown today as the Football Association kicks off England's bid for the 2018 or 2022 tournament.

Bristol is one of 15 cities which will be put forward at Wembley Stadium today as a potential venue, subject to the development of Bristol City's new ground in Ashton Vale.

The new 30,000 seater ground, for which planning permission is yet to be secured, will be capable of transforming into a 42,000 seater venue should England win the right to stage the World Cup.

FIFA's invitation to bid for the tournament stated approximately 12 stadiums will be required, all with a capacity of at least 40,000. From these, one must have 80,000 seats to stage the opening game and the final, which will be Wembley (capacity 90,000). A further two must seat a minimum of 60,000 for the semi-finals, most likely Old Trafford (capacity 76,212) and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium (60,342).

And FA chairman LordTriesman, who is the bid chairman, will today stress England’s infrastructure and the economic benefits of hosting the tournament.

Triesman will say: “We have first-class grounds. We’ve got good transport links, domestically and internationally. We’ve got excellent accommodation.

“A World Cup in England would be a truly memorable event – not only for our nation but for every nation.

“We’d extend a wonderful welcome to players and fans from across the world.

“Inside and outside our grounds, we’d share with them our love of the game and our sense of fair play.

“And they would enjoy our diverse culture – one that means England would provide a home-from-home welcome for every fan and player.”

Beckham, a bid vice-president, is due to play a major role in the star-studded launch.

There will be messages from the three main parties to underline cross-party support for the bid.

BBC presenter Adrian Chiles will be the compere for the event, which will be followed by a meeting for representatives from 15 cities who are all hoping to be hosts. The prospective hosts will be given an update on the requirements needed as well as the timings for the process to choose the cities.

The 15 cities are: Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Sunderland.

FIFA’s 24-man executive committee will vote on the hosts for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments in December next year. Spain and Russia are England’s main rivals in Europe, while the USA and Australia are also bidding.