Birmingham will go head-to-head with high profile competition from Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Genoa next Tuesday 24 June, as it competes for top honours at one the world's most illustrious regeneration awards ceremonies.

Set to take place in Valencia, Spain, the BEX 2008 International Awards celebrate excellence in how the built environment is designed, planned and developed across all corners of the globe.

Drawing entries from as far afield as America, Russia, Asia and the Middle East, the awards are one of the few truly global platforms on which regeneration schemes from one country are judged against the next.

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Birmingham's place in the competition finals comes in the category of 'Master Planning', where it has been short-listed for its work in developing the Big City Plan.

Cllr Neville Summerfield, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: "Simply to be on the short-list for such a prestigious award is a great achievement, and recognition of the scale and groundbreaking scope which the Big City Plan is seeking to address.

"While Birmingham has long been at the forefront of regeneration innovation in the UK, projects such as the Big City Plan, New Street Gateway and £193m Library of Birmingham are increasingly making the rest of the world sit up, take notice, and want to do business with us."

The Big City Plan is the single biggest master planning exercise ever undertaken in the UK, and amongst the biggest in the world. Shaping the future of Birmingham over the next 20 years, and beyond, the plan will co-ordinate a regeneration programme worth tens of billions of pounds and more extensive that that taking place for the London 2012 Olympics.

(JM)