The hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals will be chosen on Thursday, bringing to an end years of planning, campaigning and lobbying.

England is hoping the result will signal the start of an even more frenetic period of preparation, but how will Fifa reach their much-anticipated decision?

Key members of England's bid team have been in Zurich since Saturday, with Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince William, David Beckham and other notable names arriving on Tuesday to complete a 30-strong delegation.

DAVID BOND'S BLOG Cameron, Beckham and Prince William will attempt to turn on the charm and deflect attention from Panorama on to the stadiums and money-making potential

London 2012 Olympic chief Lord Coe, England's record goalscorer Bobby Charlton and national manager Fabio Capello are among those involved in the last-minute lobbying efforts.

According to Trinidad's Newsday newspaper, Cameron and Prince William have arranged separate meetings with Fifa vice-president Jack Warner on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

Warner represents a crucial figure who, as president of the Concacaf confederation, potentially controls three of 22 votes that will decide the hosts.

After the informal lobbying, the candidates' final 30-minute presentations begin on Wednesday afternoon at the Home of Fifa - the organisation's headquarters since 2006.

VOTING PROCEDURE 1 Dec: 2022 bids make 30-minute final presentations to Executive Committee (ExCo) at Fifa headquarters in Zurich Order: Australia (1300 GMT), South Korea (1400 GMT), Qatar (1500 GMT), USA (1600 GMT), Japan (1700 GMT) 2 Dec: 2018 bids make 30-minute final presentations to ExCo at Fifa headquarters Order: Netherlands-Belgium (0800 GMT), Spain-Portugal (0900 GMT), England (1000 GMT), Russia (1100 GMT) Process: Secret ballot of 22 ExCo members at Fifa headquarters To win: One bid needs an absolute majority - 12 votes If no majority: Bid with fewest votes drops out and another round of voting occurs until majority achieved If tie: Fifa president Sepp Blatter has casting vote Announcement: Results put in two envelopes and taken to Zurich Exhibition Centre, where Blatter announces winner (approx 1500 GMT)

The five contenders for the 2022 tournament begin the proceedings with Australia taking the stage at 1300 GMT.

South Korea, Qatar, the United States and Japan each follow at hourly intervals.

At 0800 GMT on Thursday, the 2018 bidders start their final pitches.

Co-bidders Netherlands-Belgium begin proceedings with the joint Spain-Portugal bid following at 0900 GMT, England at 1000 GMT and Russia at 1100 GMT.

The running order for the final presentations has previously been determined by the drawing of lots.

Fifa's executive committee will then retire to vote in a secret ballot.

The executive committee is led by president Sepp Blatter and consists of eight vice-presidents and 15 members appointed by the sport's confederations and national associations.

However, Thursday's election will currently consist of 22 rather than 24 votes after the suspension of members Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii over corruption allegations.

The victorious bidders for each tournament will be the first to gain an absolute majority of 12 votes among the members.

If no bid obtains the required votes, the bid with the fewest votes is eliminated and another round of voting begins, with the process repeated until there is a winner.

Should two bids finish the process tied together with 11 votes each, Blatter will have the casting vote.

The names of the winning bids will then be placed in an envelope and make the short journey to Zurich Exhibition Centre where Blatter will announce the result to the world's media at around 1500 GMT.

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