THE people of Brighton and Hove are being offered a unique chance to go down in history at the start of the new millennium.

The search is on to find 100 residents who will spearhead the towns' bid for city status and star in a range of exciting millennium celebrations.

Their faces will be displayed on buses and billboards and form part of a huge travelling exhibition in the year 2000 to promote the towns' greatest asset - their people.

The Argus has teamed up with The Place To Be, a group drawn from business, media, arts and educational groups, to launch the 100 Faces project today.

We want to hear your stories - why Brighton and Hove is the place to be for you, and why you think it's about time we were made a city.

We are looking for locals born in each year of the last century, from a 99-year-old war hero to a bouncing baby, who reflect the wonderful diversity of people who make up this vibrant place.

Place To Be chairman Simon Fanshawe said: "These projects are designed to include everybody and show that this is the people's city bid and the people's celebration."

The Queen intends to create two new cities, one to mark the next century and one to celebrate her golden jubilee. The 100 Faces project will support Brighton and Hove's bid by showing off the wealth of talented and creative people who live here.

Argus editor Simon Bradshaw said: "Brighton and Hove is not only a great place, it's full of great people with fascinating stories to tell.

"We want to hear those stories. The Argus is leading this project with the aim of getting to the very heart and soul of the place."

Your stories will be publicly displayed during the year 2000 and ten of the most interesting will be featured in The Argus.

The winners will be invited to a special champagne breakfast on October 10 at a surprise venue.

The Place To Be campaign believes city status will boost Brighton and Hove's reputation and attract business and cultural investment.

Brighton and Hove Council leader Steve Bassam said: "We can only gain. The idea is not to make Brighton and Hove bigger or busier, only better and more high-profile.

"Research we're doing suggests local people think rival towns bidding for city status, such as Croydon or Swindon, have nothing like as good a case as we do."

Roger French, managing director of Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, said: "100 Faces is a great way for everyone to get involved in what is a people-inspired city bid to Her Majesty.

"There is nowhere better to live and work in the UK than Brighton and Hove. There is a great atmosphere and the place is on the up after many years of stagnation.

"We should be a city because we are already the capital city of the South East outside of London. Other towns just don't have what we have."

You will also have the chance to be a star guest at an exciting range of activities planned to celebrate the millennium. These include a huge street party on New Year's Eve and a millennium exhibition featuring people from the 100 Faces project.

The 100 Faces exhibition will be available to future generations at the internationally-renowned Mass Observation Archive at Sussex University.

We would like to hear from people of all ages and from all backgrounds who have an interesting story to tell. People can either nominate themselves or neighbours, family and friends.

More than 20,000 leaflets, including application forms, will be available at Argus offices, council buildings, libraries and on Brighton and Hove buses during June.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.