Town praised for Tall Ships' work

When the event was held on Tyneside in 2005 it attracted about 1.5m visitors

Organisers of the Tall Ships' Race have praised a Teesside town after a visit to check on its preparations for the event in 2010.

Up to one million visitors are expected in Hartlepool to watch about 100 vessels finish the month-long race.

Members of Sail Training International recently visited the site of a Tall Ships' village, which will link two docking sites.

The event is due to take place in the town between 7 and 10 August.

The larger class vessels will berth in Victoria Harbour at PD Ports and the smaller ships will berth in Hartlepool Marina.

'Considerable progress'

Colonel Ron Dadswell, trustee of Sail Training International, said: "The visit of the Tall Ships' Race fleet to Hartlepool is being put together by a very good team and they are all working extremely hard.

"We have a very good feeling about the event."

Hartlepool Mayor Stuart Drummond said being selected to host the race had enhanced civic pride in the town.

He said: "We were tremendously proud to be chosen to be a host port for the race and we are pulling out all the stops to make it the event of the year."

The race starts in Antwerp, Belgium, on 10 July 2010, and crews will sail to Aalborg, Denmark and Kristiansand, Norway, before setting off for Teesside.

Hartlepool Council is helping coordinate the preparations.