THE Newcastle and Gateshead initiative to become the European Capital of Culture is something of a misnomer in that it is intended to reflect upon not just Tyneside but the North-East as a whole.

Those behind the ambitious bid, conscious of the 'Newcastle-centric' sensitivities which exist here, are desperate to get across the message that the wider region can benefit from winning the accolade in 2008.

Culture is notoriously difficult to define - a vague mixture of ingredients which create the spirit of a place through arts, sport, tradition and general way of life.

And the spirit of the region was much in evidence at the weekend.

Thousands turned out for a look inside the region's newly-opened cultural jewel, the Baltic arts centre, overlooking the Tyne.

In the south of the region, the British Touring Car Championships attracted astonishing numbers of spectators to Croft Circuit, near Darlington.

Add that to our passion for Premiership football, international-class cricket facilities, first-class rugby, and a flourishing horseracing industry and the region's sporting cocktail is as potent as there is anywhere in the country.

Meanwhile, towards the region's geographical centre, an estimated 50,000 people converged on Durham City to celebrate the region's industrial heritage at the Durham Miners' Gala.

The pits have long gone but the colour of the banners is just as vivid, the brass band music just as stirring, and the will to hold on to something special just as strong.

Arts, sport and tradition all proved equally capable of pulling in the crowds over the weekend and all have a place under the wide umbrella of 'culture'.

And let us never underestimate the value of the latter. For while the Baltic is bright and new, the Durham Miners' Gala is old and bright.

The Labour leaders who have successively ignored the event in the hope that it would fade away, along with its 'Old Labour' associations, were wrong.

The Durham Miners' Gala is as strong as ever - just ask the 50,000 people who attended on Saturday.

Who knows, maybe Tony Blair might join them for a bit of North-East culture next year.