YORK is up for an international award in Greece next month.

Winners of the European Cities Tourism Awards, launched last year, will be announced at a gala dinner on June 13.

York was shortlisted for the European Tourism City Of The Year award in March, and will compete against Gothenburg and Valencia for the accolade.

The purpose of the awards is to recognise and encourage excellence and professionalism in tourism throughout European cities, in the hope that it will help to achieve world-class levels of performance.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, was feeling "optimistic" about the city's prospects.

She said: "It's really good to put York on the European stage.

"We nominated ourselves for the European Tourism City Of The Year award because we felt that was the one that would benefit us most from a marketing perspective.

"It should help to build awareness of what York has to offer as a short break destination."

The evening will be held in the exclusive Ethnikos Cine Kerameikos, in the heart of Athens.

Throughout the night, the guests will be treated to a variety of entertainment, including the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Greek singer Elena Paparizou.

There are two awards up for grabs on the night, the European Tourism City Of The Year Award and the European City Tourism Organisation Of The Year Award.

Shortlists were drawn up in March by a select and distinguished panel of judges chaired by Paul Dubrule, co-founder of the hotel group Accor.

The only other British city to feature in the shortlists is Liverpool.

The awards will be hosted by European Cities Marketing, in co-operation with the Athens Tourism and Economic Development Agency and the Greek Ministry of Tourism.

They are sponsored by SAS Airlines and UK-based Locum Consulting.