CHAMPAGNE breakfasts will be on offer to regatta-goers as one of the country's oldest annual rowing festivals takes place this weekend.

The 170th Durham Regatta will take place on the River Wear, with a new main sponsor giving the event added impetus.

This year the main sponsor is the newly opened Chase bar, in the converted former Brown's Boathouse, on the banks of the river.

Regatta secretary Roly Metcalfe said: "An event of this size requires every bit of backing possible, and it is great to have Chase on board.

"With the boathouse's rowing connotations, it seems an appropriate link-up.

"There can be nothing better than sitting on the balcony of the old boathouse sipping a nice cold drink and watching the racing taking place on the river in front."

The bar, which is expecting its busiest weekend since it opened, is offering champagne breakfasts from 10am tomorrow and on Sunday.

Elite oarsmen and women from England and across the Atlantic are heading to Durham for the event.

Non-stop racing will take place from 8.30am to 5.30pm on both days. Awards will be presented in Durham Town Hall on Sunday evening.

Mr Metcalfe said there were more than 250 entries for each day.

The Grand Challenge Cup, for leading fours crews, will celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Admission to the riverside footpath will be £2, with concessions available.