Brighton and Hove has netted a £40 million boost to its economy by winning the bid to host the Labour Party Conference in 2008 and 2009.

The events are expected to attract 50,000 delegates, exhibitors and media members to the city.

The 2008 conference will be the sixth time Labour has picked Brighton and Hove. It beat off competition from Blackpool, Manchester, Liverpool and Bournemouth.

Councillors and business leaders celebrated yesterday as the successful bid was announced.

Simon Burgess, leader of the council, led the delegation which presented the city's bid to Labour officials.

Labour's new party chairman Hazel Blears and members of the National Executive were reportedly impressed by the Brighton and Hove bid. Ms Blears is known to like the city because of its facilities and culture.

Councillor Burgess said: "We score well for two reasons: delegates love the place as it's great fun and conference organisers like us because we're professional and helpful.

"About 13,000 jobs are dependent on visitors so this is great news for the economy."

Brighton and Hove City Council expects visitors to spend £20 million at each conference on food, accommodation and entertainment.

Tony Mernagh, head of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said the city's winning formula was helped by collaboration between the private and public sectors