REPRESENTATIVES from more than 250 North-East businesses have been told about the opportunities next year’s London Olympics could bring to the North- East’s £4bn tourism industry.

Delegates at yesterday’s breakfast briefing at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park ground were told the event would bring improved external perceptions, greater profile and a major boost for the region’s visitor economy, which supports more than 65,000 North-East jobs, in both the short and the long term.

The event was organised by the NewcastleGateshead Initiative, which is responsible for promoting the area to visitors, with speakers including Roger Mosey, BBC’s director of London 2012, and Tess Longfield, head of international destination PR at national tourist board VisitBritain.

St James’ Park will host some of the Olympics’ football tournament stage nine matches on six days between July 26 and August 4, 2012, including the men’s quarter final.

NewcastleGateshead Initiative’s chief executive Sarah Stewart said: “We all must maximise the opportunities on offer for the benefit of NewcastleGateshead and North-East England as a whole.”