The Eden Project is one of the four projects in the running for the £50 million Lottery award. © Eden Project

The telephone voting lines in the Big Lottery Fund’s The People’s £50 Million contest are open - from 9.00 on Friday December 7 until noon on Monday December 10.

A giant seven-metre (25ft), 12-tonne £1 coin was unveiled to mark the opening of telephone voting lines in Potters Field, London and to symbolise the £50 million investment the Big Lottery Fund is about to make through the nation-wide competition.

It is the biggest-ever Lottery award to be decided by public vote.

Four projects are in the running: Black Country Urban Park; The Edge at the Eden Project; Sherwood: The Living Legend; and Sustrans’ Connect2.

You can find out more about these projects and vote for your favourite at www.thepeoples50million.org.uk.

“The People’s £50 Million Lottery contest is a truly ground-breaking initiative, giving everyone in the UK the opportunity to decide which of these highly deserving projects will receive the single biggest award of Big Lottery funding through pubic vote,” said Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund.

“The giant coin in London today signifies the huge amount of Lottery cash going back into the UK – showing that your £1 really does make a huge difference, so get involved and vote for your favourite project.”

The phone vote numbers for the four shortlisted projects are:

• Eden Project: The Edge 0870 24 24 601
• Sustrans‚ Connect2 0870 24 24 602
• Sherwood: The Living Legend 0870 24 24 603
• Black Country Urban Park 0870 24 24 604

Four days of programmes on ITV1 will be showcasing each of the four shortlisted projects.

The winning project will be announced on ITV1 on Wednesday December 12.