FEARS that Olympic venues will struggle to market Britain as a modern country have been denied in Weymouth and Portland.

A poll by national tourism agency VisitBritain has shown twice as many Britons believe the nation's historical heritage is stronger than its status as an exciting place for contemporary culture.

But historian Stuart Morris believes Weymouth and Portland can show a rich offering of both historical and modern attractions when the sailing events are hosted in 2012.

Mr Morris, of Weston Road, Portland, said: "I think it should be an all round thing to show both sides when the Olympics is here.

"We've got a very long and fascinating history in Weymouth and Portland but it's a place of change and things are evolving.

"People come from a long way to see things like the youth musical productions and the Weymouth Operatical Society.

"There is a wealth of talent here - more so than most places of this size.

"Also if we can highlight the shipwrecks we have here we can show we have prime diving sights too."

Mr Morris said explaining the history of the area will illustrate how it became an ideal sailing venue.

He added: "The building of Portland Harbour shaped the future and the housing of Portland.

"It was such a huge task involving so many people when it was built in the 19th century that the population of the island tripled.

"It is probably the most appropriate historical thing to highlight as it will be the base of the sailing events here."

VisitBritain's poll showed 26 per cent of Britons strongly agreed that Britain is a nation rich in built and historical heritage while 13 per cent thought the same about it as an exciting place for contemporary culture.

Chief executive Tom Wright said: "Many people believe Britain is a place of morris dancing, highland games, historic castles, museums and archaeological attractions.

"They forget we have also given the world a wealth of contemporary cultural icons from rock bands and music festivals to theatre and dance, modern art and architecture."

The best of Weymouth and Portland

We asked people from Weymouth which aspects of Weymouth and Portland should be put into the spotlight in 2012.

Mary Mattison, 70, of Khartoum Road, said: "We are surrounded by natural places to visit like Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. They are the places that we should be proud to have here as well as Weymouth beach.

Rosie Ward, 61, of Great George Street, said: "History is important but when the Olympics arrives we should highlight newer things in the area. If the work is completed we should show off the new road and things that will show Weymouth in a new light."

Music shop manager Danny Blundell, 22, of Rock and Pop in Great George Street, said: "I've never been anywhere else that has this much musical talent so the area is a phenomenon. This town has an abundance of musical talent. There's not another town like this with so many bands on all the time so we should not ignore it when we promote the town."

Margaret Wakefield, 66, of Ricketts Close, said: "We need to get the Pavilion done and then show it off during the Olympics. There's a lot more to Weymouth than just the seafront and although Punch and Judy and the donkeys are alright there are other things that are tacky that we should ignore."

Rod Wakefield 68, of Ricketts Close, said: "We should show off all the iron age hill forts in the area and the Nothe Fort. I think we should pull our fingers out in Weymouth and tidy the place up."