A BID to make the North-East a cultural hotbed during the coming summer season is launched today.

Billed as the next phase of the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, Hotbed 2004 will focus on design, fashion and the garden.

It is the latest stage in the £140m culture10 programme announced last year to create a decade of world-class culture in the region.

The themes coincide with international tourism body VisitBritain's plans to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal Horticultural Society, with a programme of events celebrating A Year of Gardening.

In the North-East, it is being tied in with the 50th anniversary of the fashion school at Northumbria University, in Newcastle.

Hotbed 2004 posters, banners and media campaigns will soon be appearing in the region, heralding events to appeal to locals and visitors.

Tania Robinson, marketing manager of the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, said: "The 'Buzzin' campaign we created a couple of years ago successfully met our initial objective of putting Newcastle/Gateshead on the map.

"With the area's profile now so much more heightened, it is now time to move on to the next phase of development and we need a new campaign to reflect this evolvement."

She said the region was a hotbed of talent, creativity, energy and ideas.

"By building on the momentum created by Buzzin, we aim to communicate this new message to our established target market of potential visitors within a three-hour travel time of the city, with emphasis on Scotland, the North-West and South-East," she said.

Among the highlights of HotBed 2004 is a series of art and fashion events staged in some of the region's most impressive gardens and grounds, including Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham.