THE beauty of North East England could be showcased to millions of travellers, if the region scoops the prize of £1m in free advertising at Heathrow Airport.

The North East Chamber of Commerce is calling on businesses and individuals to back the region in the contest, that opens today (21st July), when members of the public can go to the Heathrow Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HeathrowAirport) where a gallery of four stunning images from UK regions will be featured, and vote for their favourite.

Heathrow and VisitBritain launched ‘Your Great Britain’ competition which will see the winning region receive £1m worth of free advertising at the airport. Hadrian’s Wall represents the North East against other entries from Northern Ireland, the Midlands and the North West.

NECC Chief Executive, James Ramsbotham, said: “NECC and our members have been seeking to raise awareness of the many Great Reasons there are to live, work and invest here in the North East and this competition is an excellent way of energising that campaign.

“The picture of Hadrian’s Wall at Housesteads is truly beautiful, but of course what we in the region know is that we have countless spots of equal beauty and many others with just as much historical or cultural significance. Nevertheless, Hadrian’s Wall as captured takes some beating and is a very special place indeed – we are confident it will help to do the North East proud.

“What we must now do – each and every one of us – is mobilise as many votes as we can to ensure that the North East wins. That way we can win the chance to showcase many others parts of our region and ultimately attract investors and visitors to this often under-sold part of Great Britain.

“We urge anyone who has a spare moment to visit the Heathrow Facebook page in order to vote to ensure that we seize this valuable opportunity to sell our great region within the bustle of one of the world’s busiest airports.”

The public have two weeks to vote for their chosen region, simply by ‘Liking’ the corresponding image. The competition will close at 23.59 on August 4. The winning region will have four advertisements showing its breadth and beauty shown across digital screens in all terminals at Heathrow from the end of August until the end of November.