Campaigners for self-government in the North-East staged a rally to celebrate devolution plans revealed last week.
Supporters of the Campaign for a North-East Assembly gathered at the Angel of the North, Gateshead, on Saturday.
The event followed the Government's unveiling on Thursday of a White Paper outlining proposals to give the English regions a chance to vote on the introduction of regional government.
The North-East is expected to lead the way.
A purple and gold flag, the colours of St Oswald, king of Northumbria, 1,400 years ago, was unfurled bearing the slogan North-East - Ready to Go.
Hundreds of balloons, which carried the message A Strong Voice for Our Region, were released.
The gathering included MPs, Euro MPs, councillors, trade unionists and business people.
Among them was Sir John Hall, former owner of Newcastle United and the entrepreneur behind Gateshead's MetroCentre.
The campaign plans to hold a conference early next month to discuss its response to the white paper.
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