The Government will announce tomorrow which cities have made the shortlist in the race to be European Capital of Culture 2008.

For the past eight months, Brighton and Hove has been one of 12 UK cities competing for the title.

DJ Fatboy Slim's beach gig, spectacular fireworks and buildings pierced with jewellery have all featured in Brighton and Hove's bid.

From the moment organisers unveiled Where Else 2002, the popular name for Brighton and Hove's bid, the city has hosted a range of projects and entertainment extravaganzas.

What does it mean for the people of the city?

According to Paul Hudson, spokesman for where else, the bid has raised the profile of the city, brought community groups together, encouraged people to try cultural activities for the first time and showcased the best talents.

He said: "It has given a huge boost to local community organisations in helping them to increase their national profiles. An example of this is Komedia.

"Through the campaign we have been able to deliver to them visits by Government ministers and important people in the arts world.

"We have brought international arts organisations to Brighton on a scale that would not have happened otherwise, like Groupe F, who put on the big fireworks show at Preston Park during the festival.

"And the Big Beach Boutique night when Fatboy Slim performed for 250,000. This proved we can host and put on big events."

Another popular scheme launched and still running is Try It For The First Time, which has encouraged people to enjoy some of the city's cultural venues for free.

A total of 140 community groups have taken part in the scheme and more than 10,000 people have visited places they previously had never stepped inside.

A slightly more quirky side of the campaign has been Adornment, which has seen four landmark buildings in the city centre pierced with pieces of jewellery throughout October.

Mr Hudson said: "The scheme has upped the city's confidence and formed partnerships of people working together.

"It has also provoked discussion about the arts as there were people against the bid. I have enjoyed this, as I think we have shown how important the arts are to the city."

Ken Bodfish, leader of the city council, said: "The strength of our bid has been the involvement within the community. Unlike a lot of the other campaigns, ours has not used huge amounts of public funding.

"It has been a people's bid and has shown Brighton and Hove is a capital of culture even if we are not given the official title."

The European City of Culture title will change its name to European Capital of Culture in 2005 and will set off on rotation among the 15 member states of the European Union.

The year 2008 has been allocated as the UK's turn. The other 11 cities competing are Newcastle, Birmingham, Cardiff, Inverness, Belfast, Oxford, Canterbury, Liverpool, Bradford, Norwich and Bristol.

The winning city is expected to receive millions of pounds in investment and the current favourites are Newcastle, Birmingham and Cardiff.

Tomorrow, a panel of judges which include former Channel 4 boss Sir Jeremy Isaacs, general director of the Royal Opera House Marc Jordan and art historian and businessman Magnus Linklater, will choose six cities to be shortlisted and a winner will be chosen by the Prime Minister next year.

Organisers behind Brighton and Hove are hopeful the city will be one of those shortlisted but feel it depends on several factors.

Mr Hudson said: "If the panel is looking for big metro areas then we will be lucky to be shortlisted but if they go for a new innovative, quirky city, then I think we will be.

"How we react to the decision will depend a lot on who else is on the shortlist. We think of ourselves as the key cultural centre in the South outside of London so if Oxford or Canterbury are on the shortlist and we are not then we would be a bit put out.

"Then there is another scenario of Cardiff, Belfast and Inverness being shortlisted. We will know then that all the English cities were actually bidding for three shortlisted places rather than six.

"We will just have to wait and see. We have got more out of it than we thought we would. The council put in £150,000 and we were aiming to raise double this in sponsorship and grants but we raised £478,000 altogether.

"The DCMS has said the shortlisted cities will be regional centres of excellence but no one has said what this will mean.

"We would carry on with the campaign but I think the focus would change. Rather than it be about celebrating what Brighton is, we would be looking at providing something more permanent.

"We already have a Winter Festival planned for December, whatever the decision, which includes an outdoor ice rink, and are bringing back the Burning of the Clocks celebration.

"This will either be the first event of the second stage of the contest - or a chance to celebrate everything our bid was about."