Whitehaven is launching an ambitious bid to be selected as the venue for the prestigious Great Exhibition of the North.

Held in 2018, the event will celebrate and showcase the region's art, culture and design, and Whitehaven will be up against competition from other towns and cities throughout the north.

Funding of £5 million has been committed by the Government towards the two-month exhibition with a further £15m 'legacy fund' promised "to attract further cultural investment in the Northern Powerhouse."

The diverse public organisations of the area and the wider county have got behind the bid which, if successful, would bring in masses of visitors, huge investment and leave a lasting legacy of benefit. And now the call is out for the people to join them

The opportunity to host was launched in early April by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, with June 30 as the closing date. Bids from the North West, the North East and Yorkshire, have been invited and the winning venue will be announced in September.

Bidders will have to demonstrate a track record in staging big events and the town hopes its recent successes with maritime and other festivals will show it has the ability to pull it off.

The harbour will be put forward as the key venue for the exhibition and the idea of having pavilions on floating pontoons may be explored. Admission would be free and it is intended the content would appeal to all sections of the community.

Public and private organisations have joined forces to pull the bid together.

A consortium has been formed, with consultant Terry Ponting as chairman.

The Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners, which Mr Ponting also chairs, will be the lead organisation.

Chief executive of the commissioners, Celia MacKenzie, said: "This is hugely exciting. It's big, but the aspiration is there to do this and we think we can win. We provide an offer that is different and we'll probably be an unexpected contender. But we are not shy or retiring. We can fight our corner and though this is huge, we know we can do it. Recent history shows we have lifted our game."

Assistance with compiling the bid is coming from ARUP, a global firm of consultants including engineers, designers, and planners. ARUP, which has been linked to a variety of projects in West Cumbria over many decades and has an office in Whitehaven, have considerable experience with major events, ranging from the design of Olympic venues such as the Aquatics centre in Beijing to planning the transport logistics for London 2012.

Michael Osborne, ARUP Cumbria office director, said: "We are delighted to support this bid which will be a fantastic opportunity for Cumbria."

The bids will be assessed by a board, chaired by tourism supremo Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, who brought the Tour de France to the county in 2014.