Thousands of people will be on the banks of the River Tyne tonight for the Great Exhibition of the North opening event and so there will be police officers there.

Northumbria Police is reassuring people about their presence.

Road closures are already in place around Newcastle and Gateshead. You can see the full list here., external

Two men who were thrown into the sea from their boat as it started to sink close to Roker Lighthouse were rescued by Sunderland RNLI crew.

It happened yesterday afternoon and the men used their boats plastic fuel tank to keep themselves afloat.

After receiving medical treatment at the scene the two men were transferred to Sunderland Royal Hospital suffering from hypothermia.

Image source, RNLI

BBC Tees
www.bbc.co.uk/BBCTees

House of Fraser is due to reveal today whether its Darlington store will stay open.

The town's MP Jenny Chapman met the council and the building's owners earlier this week and said the outcome was "encouraging".

It comes as it's been announced this week that Thornton's and Marks and Spencer in Stockton will close their doors in August.

BBC Newcastle

Culture Secretary Matt Hancock says he believes the Great Exhibition of the North is a "brilliant celebration" and makes "any notherner proud".

The Government has put £5m into the 80-day event, which is based around Newcastle and Gateshead.

Mr Hancock (being interviewed below by BBC Newcastle's Anna Foster) said: "We have got to make sure that we have a forward-looking, positive attitude and celebrate everything that has happened here in the past and looking forward to the future."

He said he would encourage people in the North East to come and see what is happening.

He said: "These big festivals, these big exhibitions can have a long-lasting impact on how people see an area and how people who come from that area see themselves."

Today’s the day! Welcome to the Great Exhibition of the North., external

Image source, THE CHRONICLE

A generation ago many UK city centres were dreary and dilapidated places, with a reputation for crime. Now, they are among the most desirable areas of the country to live. What's changed?

Only 30 years ago inner city populations that had grown rapidly in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries had dwindled - the residents leaving cramped, urban housing for more spacious suburbs and new towns.

The reversal that has taken place - especially in the north of England and the Midlands - demonstrates a dramatic urban renaissance and a shift in how people want to live.

Newcastle has seen one of the fastest growths between 2002 and 2015 - up 113% (11,700 to 24,900). Sunderland's population went up 33% (6,100 to 8,100). In Middlesbrough it increased by 24% (1,700 to 2,100).

A number of cars have been vandalised in Sunderland recently and police are keen to speak to the man pictured in the photograph below - Do you recognise him?

Image source, NORTHUMBRIA POLICE

What a beautiful day for the start of the Great Exhibition of the North.

The opening of the event will be marked at 13:00 and then there will be events throughout the afternoon building up to the opening ceremony late tonight.

Last night a dress rehearsal was held and the River Tyne looked beautiful.

Maximo Park will be performing tonight and lead singer Paul Smith tweeted these photos late on yesterday.

Abbie Dewhurst
Weather Presenter, BBC Look North

After a chilly start there will be plenty of sunshine today and that is going to warm things up quite nicely.

There'll be hardly a cloud in the sky through the morning but a little bit of high cloud will move in later, turning the sunshine slightly hazy.

Winds will ease but it will feel cooler along the coast.

Temperatures will get up to around 19C.

Firefighters have scaled down their operation at flats where a blaze started this morning.

Eight flats in Oak Square in Redheugh, Gateshead were evacuated with nine people either rescued or escaping themselves.

Four people have been taken to hospital after a fire at a block of flats in Gateshead this morning.

Firefighters were called to Oak Square in Redheugh at about 04:30 and had to get people out through windows because the fire was at the front door.

Eight flats have been evacuated with nine people, three of them children, either rescued or escaping themselves.

Bill Foster, from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said they had received a number of calls about the fire and they managed to get residents out through windows.

"The fire had taken place on a public accessed area, so it's the area outside the front doors to these properties, which basically meant that no-one could leave their property in the normal manner through the front door," he said.

Image source, Google

The gas and power in the area has been turned off as a precaution with 190 properties affected.

Traffic lights are also off.

Welcome to Friday's live coverage of the news, sport, travel and weather.

If you want to get in touch with any news or send us photos you can tweet us, external, contact us via our Facebook page, external or email us.

The Great Exhibition of the North, billed as "the country's biggest event in 2018", opens on Friday.

Sunderland sign Netherlands-born former Turkey Under-21 centre-half Alim Ozturk on a two-year contract.

Durham face a fight to avoid defeat at Sussex after the hosts continued to dominate on day two at Arundel.

Our live updates here have now finished for the day - thank you for joining us.

This feed will be updated with any breaking news and sport stories as well as travel updates. You can also stay up date on BBC Newcastle, BBC Tees, online and on Look North.

We'll be back with live updates from 08:00 tomorrow.

In the meantime, if you'd like to get in touch with news or photos you can tweet us @BBCNewsNE, external, email us, or contact us via our Facebook page, external.

Derby will travel to Reading in Frank Lampard's first game in charge when the Championship season starts on 3 August.

Brighton & Hove Albion sign goalkeeper Jason Steele from League One Sunderland on a three-year deal.

A dog has been abandoned at a Durham supermarket.

A young man was caught on CCTV leaving a female Jack Russell at Sainsbury's on Sunderland Road, Gilesgate at about 18:45 on 11 June.

The RSPCA is now trying to find the dog, believed to be called Pepper, after she was reportedly returned to her owners by a customer.

A spokesperson for the charity says there was "no sign" of Pepper at the reported address and they are "very concerned for her welfare".

Image source, RSPCA

Darren Bonner was found in undergrowth near a caravan park in Northumberland in July last year.