AS the fireworks burst in the sky, illuminating the masts of the fleet of tall ships moored on the Seine, it was easy to see why Rouen's Tall Ship Armada would attract some ten million visitors.

The nightly firework displays and concerts are just part of 11 days of festivities in the French city, drawing to a close on Monday, which have turned the Seine and its banks into a hive of activity by day and by night.

The crowds have been drawn not only by the ships - which include the Jubilee Sailing Trust's Southampton-based Tenacious and HMS Southampton - but also by the numerous stalls and the programme of entertainment on offer.

Throughout the day and into the night, people have been queuing up to have a look around the ships, packing sightseeing boats, enjoying open air concerts and tonight they'll even get a chance to see Iggy Pop and the Stooges.

Monday's Great Parade of the tall ships as they set sail for Liverpool will draw the event to a spectacular conclusion, putting the city in northern France firmly on the map and boosting its appeal to visitors from across the globe.

Clearly Rouen is a city which knows how to make the most of its assets - and Southampton would do well to take note.

The idea of creating events on the quays of Rouen so that residents could reclaim their port first came to Patrick Herr in 1983, when he was deputy mayor in charge of public relations, festivals and ceremonies.

The idea of organising a meeting of sailing ships gained ground and in 1985 the Sails of Freedom association was set up.

Various events were organised, the most celebrated of all being the Rouen New York Race for Freedom, for large multi-hulled yachts, held in 1986.

Since then a number of events for tall ships have taken place every four or five years, each growing in size and attracting an increasing number of visitors. But it has come at a cost.

The total budget for this year's event was between eight and nine million Euros - roughly £6.5-£7m.

A spokesman for the French tourist office said: "The Armada is good to promote the image of the city. It is very hard for Rouen to evaluate the income it gets from the event but in 2003 it had about ten millions visitors (mostly French) and it is thought that they spend about 35 Euros per person. We don't have the 2008 figures yet but on July 4 and 5 they had about 2.5 million visitors."

The armada is being held in association with Sail Training International, which has been running the famous annual Tall Ships races since 1956.

The race is the world's largest international sailing event. It came to Portsmouth in 2002 and to Southampton two years before that.

Plans were unveiled in 2001 to turn Southampton into a major global centre for tall ships, which it was thought would bring millions of pounds of tourism business to the area, but nothing came of it. So is it time for Southampton to follow Rouen's lead?

Of course, Rouen does have more to attract tourists than Southampton - it is a medieval city which still has many stunning period buildings, not to mention a beautiful cathedral. It also has a strong connection to celebrated impressionist artist Claude Monet as well as being the place where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake.

But Southampton could still take inspiration as to how to make the most of its assets.

After all, Southampton is one of only two ports on the south coast - alongside Portsmouth - which would even be capable of hosting the Tall Ships Race, but the city did not put in a bid to host a leg of the 2012 race, despite being in the right place to do so.

Southampton also has a famous artist who could be celebrated in a similar way to Monet - Sir John Everett Millais, described by the Tate Britain as the greatest painter and founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood' - as well as a rich nautical history.

But there are no plans to follow the French example - at least not yet.

Cllr John Hannides, Cabinet member for leisure, culture and tourism, says that he hopes taking a different approach to how big events are funded will mean that Southampton can host events to rival Rouen's.

He said: "We are very keen to emphasise Southampton's maritime connections and that nationally and internationally Southampton is open for a whole range of events. We want to look at all our options and explore what events we might be able to host.

"When the Tall Ships Race last came to Southampton, negotiations to attract the race led to substantial public funds being made available.

"In subsequent years it became apparent that the public funds were not available to do something like that again."

According to a spokesman for Southampton City Council, the last Tall Ships Race in Southampton cost £1.5m to fund - largely public money - and recouped less than that for the city.

He added that there were a number of issues involved in Southampton deciding not to bid for the 2012 Tall Ships Race, including the city's interest in attracting business and training camps connected to the Olympic Games as well as events to mark the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic.

Cllr Hannides said that the decision not to bid for the 2012 Tall Ships Race would have been made before the current Conservative administration took over running the council.

He continued: "In my view, the council went wrong by focusing too much on funding from the public rather than attracting key sponsors who we could have partnered with. My preference is that Southampton City Council acts as an enabler to make things happen by working with the private sector - we shouldn't always be looking to the public purse to fund everything.

"In the past the attitude has been what can we afford'. I encourage our events team to look at what events we might want to host and then look at how that could be funded."

Perhaps then in a few years time Southampton may be hosting an event to compete with Rouen's Tall Ships Armada - and attracting 10 million visitors of its own.