To the Lord Mayor of Bristol,

I am delighted to support Bristol's application to become a host city for the FIFA World Cup in 2018.

I am especially pleased to be able to share the expertise and knowledge Hanover gained through being a host city for the World Cup in Germany in 2006.

We look forward to helping Bristol develop its proposal in terms of the stadium development, transport and airport infrastructure, medical provision and first aid, and tourism development.

Our twin city partnership with Bristol started more than 60 years ago as a way to build links between divided communities.

Football is a great way of bringing different communities together and fostering understanding between different cultures.

I think it is particularly special that this long lasting twinning relationship is now also being used to exchange know-how and expertise between the two cities on such a large scale international event.

I hope that we can deepen the relationship between Hanover and Bristol further through this co-operation.

Yours sincerely,

Stefan Weil, Lord Mayor of Hanover.