Bradford will be ringing out a welcome when 150 delegates from across Europe gather in the city in May for a major EU conference on how to combat the risk of flooding in urban areas.

Bell-ringing rehearsals have been under way at City Hall this week so the European national anthem can be played at the start of the three-day event beginning on May 13. Representatives from eight European cities and two universities will be attending.

The conference will mark the end of the EU-funded FloodResilienCity (FRC) project, which was established to integrate an increasing demand for more houses and other buildings in urban areas with the need to better flood-risk management measures in North-West European cities.

Bradford was chosen to take part along with Brussels and Leuven in Belgium, Dublin, Mainz in Germany, Paris and Orleans in France, and the Dutch city Nijmegen. Academics from the University of Sheffield and the City of Paris Engineering School are also involved.

About 28,000 people in the Bradford district are at risk of flooding, and as part of the FRC project, Bradford Council experts are working to identify and map flood risk.

Various projects across Europe have been established under the FRC banner and the final event will provide the opportunity for experience, working knowledge and expertise to be shared between all the partners.