Forget Glastonbury, the hottest site to pitch your tent come 2018 could be Ashton Court in Bristol, at the heart of the World Cup Fan Fest.

The England 2018 World Cup team have given the thumbs up to Bristol's plan to turn the stunning Ashton Court Estate into an 85,000-strong Fan Fest, with provision for 20,000 campers.

Delegates of the England bid toured Bristol yesterday in the glorious sunshine and were given a presentation on the city's potential as a 2018 World Cup host venue at the Grade I-listed Ashton Court Mansion.

The city's final inspection was hailed a success by the Bristol team, who were particularly pleased with reaction to their plans for the Fan Fest.

A stone's throw from the proposed state-of-the-art stadium in Ashton Vale, the 850-acre, council-owned expanse of meadows and woodland boasts views across to the match venue. It is linked to the city by the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge and the Harbourside and would provide a memorable experience for fans eager to share in the 2018 World Cup carnival comprising hundreds of stalls and stages.

Big screens would beam action from the games and numerous stages would provide continuous entertainment throughout the month-long tournament.

"We're not talking about replicating Glastonbury," Bristol bid team member Stephen Wray told the Evening Post. "We're talking about a higher level of facilities. What you would expect for your summer holiday in the south of France.

"We want to encourage people here for two weeks, to base themselves in Bristol and to tour everything that's on offer in the South West."

The estate is more than accustomed to such numbers of visitors, hosting a quarter of a million during the annual Bristol Balloon Fiesta weekend and attracting more than 1.6 million people a year to the Grade II registered landscape and Grade I listed mansion, making it the third busiest country park in the UK.

The visit of the England 2018 team is part of a continuing collaborative process to help work up the bids of the 16 candidate cities before their November 6 deadline for submission of their bid books. In turn, it will ensure that England's own bid has 12 knockout venues to ensure FIFA deem England worthy of hosting the tournament in 2018 or 2022.

To this end the Bristol team were pleased with the additional feedback they received, particularly on how to utilise the many open spaces on offer in Bristol.

FIFA takes control of the stadium and the Fan Fest for the duration of a World Cup tournament but all other sites are open for local businesses to get involved with.

The bid team's plans for a community festival in Eastville Park and creating a cultural hub around Queen's Square by the Harbourside were also reported to be well received by the visiting delegates yesterday. THU And now the challenge is to further develop those ideas for other centres throughout the South West to emphasise Bristol's place as the gateway to the region.

Bristol 2018's new ambassador, former Bristol Rovers and Spurs stalwart Gary Mabbutt, helped show the visiting delegation around his home town. He told the Evening Post: "It's been very positive and very relaxed. I think we're going to assemble a very strong bid and I think we've got a good chance."

Cabinet councillor for culture and sport Simon Cook also spent the day with the visitors and was on hand by the ss Great Britain at lunchtime to help add more signatures to the giant 'Back Bristol' football currently touring the city. He said: "This is a very green city with a lot of open spaces perfect of hosting everything that comes with a World Cup."

Bristol commuters were encouraged to add their signatures to the ball last night by Wallace and Gromit, a footballer on stilts and Bristol City players at the cascade steps in the city centre.