Come and play in Bristol – we'll be ready

Carrying 85 pages, 19 chapters, and an invitation to 'come and play', a courier sped down the M4 to Wembley last night as Bristol took another step closer to becoming a World Cup host city in 2018.

The Bristol bid team filed their outline bid with the England 2018 World Cup bid team yesterday, four days before the latter's first inspection visit to the South West.

It is only an outline bid, with two more incarnations to follow before the England bid team make their decision in December.

But enclosed within its carefully collated pages is the emerging message Bristol wants to send to FIFA and the world: Come and play in our city.

The England bid team required candidates to supply up to 500 words on a range of subjects from transport and training grounds to base camps and big screens.

It wants each city to prove it can match the strict standards demanded by football's governing body, FIFA, with regard to diversity, sustainability and legacy.

And the Bristol bid team feel the only contender in the West is well-placed to deliver. Richard Barrington, Head of the West of England Sports Trust, is fronting the coalition of local businesses and council officials working on the bid and liaising closely with the bid executive group of Bristol City chief executive Colin Sexstone, Bristol City Council chief executive Jan Ormondroyd, and local businessman John Savage CBE.

He confirmed to the Evening Post yesterday that the bid had been submitted on time and revealed the thinking behind the bid team's proposal.

He said: "We don't just say things in Bristol, we do them. And that's what we want to reflect in our bid. We don't just watch football, we play it. We don't just listen to music, we make it. We don't just attend art galleries, we stage them."

With more than 70 nationalities in the city, Bristol ticks the diversity box and on the sustainability front it was the only UK city to make the finals for selection as the European Green Capital in 2010.

The outline document places an emphasis on ensuring fans can get about by bike or on foot before resorting to improved public transport and finally by using their cars. By 2011 there will have been £22.8m of investment work on Bristol as the first designated 'Cycling City', something the Bristol bid team are keen to get across. And then there is the added investment in transport that host city status could bring, such as the Portishead rail link, the South Bristol road link and the rapid transit system.

The Bristol team has also brought the Gloucestershire FA and the Somerset FA on board to demonstrate the extent of grassroots football in the region and to help secure a lasting legacy from the tournament, should the bid succeed.

In addition they have been busy firming up their initial recommendations for training camps, long-stay hotels, city centre hotels and fan parks.

Bristol Rovers' Memorial Stadium, Bristol Grammar School and the University of Bristol's sports complex at Coombe Dingle have all been put forward as training venues for teams playing in the city while Bristol City's training ground at Failand and the Filton West of England Institute of Sport campus are earmarked for teams which use Bristol as their tournament base.

For big screen action, agreement in principle has been secured for the Downs, Ashton Court and Eastville Park, ensuring a spread of the celebrations around the city.

The England bid team ultimately require 2,000 words on each chapter but for now the 15 candidates have to submit 500.

Mr Barrington said: "We've done very well because we've pretty much got 2,000 words on each chapter which we've edited down to 500 at this stage. So for the next few months we can concentrate on what makes Bristol different rather than running around getting words together."

The other point to press home is the importance of the bid to the city and to encourage the public to vote for Bristol on the England bid team's website.

The council estimate Bristol's economy could benefit to the tune of up to £20m a game if selected as a host city and England wins the right to stage the tournament in 2018 or 2022. With the possibility of up to five games on offer, it is quite a prize but will only be awarded if people show interest by logging on.