A NORTH-EAST delegation is missing St George's Day to take part in celebrations for a patron saint tailor-made for the region - St Jordi.
As the rest of England commemorates our dragon-slaying saint, a team from the NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) is in Barcelona for a festival in honour of the Catalan equivalent, St Jordi.
The visit, which coincides with an international travel show, is part of a drive by NGI to attract more Spanish visitors to Tyneside.
Neil Rami, NGI chief executive, said: "It's an interesting link that our two cities share - the same patron saint's day - and it's great to be giving our own St George's Day celebrations a bit of an international twist this year.
"But it's particularly relevant that we're promoting NewcastleGateshead in Barcelona when they're celebrating a day with such an obvious North-East link, St Jordi's Day.
"It's even more apt when you realise that St Jordi is actually their patron saint of culture, one of NewcastleGateshead's main selling points."
With funding from regional development agency One NorthEast, NGI has appointed a Spanish public relations agency - Burson Marsteller - to boost awareness in Barcelona of what the North-East can offer.
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