By David Fuller BBC News Online, Oxfordshire

Oxford is one of six cities to be judged for the title

The decision on Oxford's bid to become the first British European Capital of Culture for 18 years will be made on Wednesday morning.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell will reveal the winner at 0810 BST, then travel to the winning city with Sir Jeremy Isaacs, head of the selection committee, to present a letter from the Prime Minister.

The centrepiece of Oxford's bid is a year-long 'festival of festivals', including celebrations of everything from music and sport to religion and science.

The title is not merely an artistic acknowledgement - although no prize money is on offer for the winners, the investment that goes with it means the stakes are huge.

Oxford is one of the greatest European cities. It has almost uniquely contributed both to the development of our continental civilisation and to our industrial heritage. Oxford University chancellor Chris Patten

The last British city to hold the title, Glasgow in 1990, reported 5,580 new jobs and an almost �15m economic boost to the local economy.

Oxford's bid has many high-profile supporters, including scientist Stephen Hawking, broadcaster Ned Sherrin and author Philip Pullman.

Oxford University chancellor Chris Patten said: "Oxford is one of the greatest European cities.

"It has almost uniquely contributed both to the development of our continental civilisation and to our industrial heritage."

According to the criteria of a recent survey, Oxford is the most creative small city in the country, and the second most creative overall after Manchester.

The Boho Britain creativity index, compiled by independent think tank Demos, ranked British cities by three "creativity indicators" identified by a US economic regeneration expert: ethnic diversity, proportion of gay residents, and the number of patent applications per head.

Robert Hutchison, chief executive of the bid team, Oxford Inspires said he was not surprised by the findings.

He said: "Oxford's cultural heritage is renowned the world over but this index clearly demonstrates that Oxford is also a vibrant, dynamic and creative modern city making an immense contribution to present-day culture."

A city rebranded

Oxford is not among the favourites, however, in a recent BBC poll it came last.

The bidding team seem to have been caught in a dilemma - while clearly wanting to play on Oxford's strong public image of dreaming spires and 'Brideshead Revisited', they are aware that, since Glasgow's victory in 1990, urban regeneration is just as important to the bid.

The fear is that the panel of culture judges will decide that Oxford simply does not need the title as much as Newcastle/Gateshead, Liverpool or Birmingham.

So the team behind the bid have been at pains to stress that Oxford is not only the middle-class university city of 'Inspector Morse' fame.

10/1 outsider

As Oxford Inspires' communications officer Sue Wilson points out, Blackbird Leys, on the outskirts of Oxford, is among the most run-down estates in the country.

It remains to be seen how successful this rebranding exercise has been.

When betting closed, Oxford remained an outsider at 10/1, with Newcastle and Gateshead the 11/8 favourite and Liverpool second at 9/4.