Will Port Stanley become a city? Falkland Islands capital is amont the unlikely locations seeking higher status in Platinum Jubilee
- Some 39 places across the UK are facing off to be granted city status next year
- They are hoping to be ‘civic honours’ winners in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
- The winner will be the first since Chelmsford, Perth, and St Asaph, Wales, in 2012
- Milton Keynes, one of the largest on the list, is making its fourth city attempt
The contenders include a world-renowned golf hub, the capital of the Falkland Islands and a tiny Cornish town with a population of just 1,440.
St Andrews, Stanley and Marazion are facing off against dozens of other towns in a bid to be granted city status by the Queen as part of next year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Some 39 places from across the UK – and overseas territories for the first time – are in the hunt to become the first ‘civic honours’ winners since Chelmsford, Perth and the Welsh town of St Asaph in 2012.
Milton Keynes, one of the largest towns on the list with almost 250,000 residents, is hoping it’s fourth time lucky after failing in 2000, 2002 and 2012.
St Andrews, Stanley (pictured) and Marazion are facing off against dozens of other towns in a bid to be granted city status by the Queen as part of next year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations
There are 70 cities in the UK – 52 in England, six in Wales, seven in Scotland and five in Northern Ireland.
Becoming a city does not grant a town any extra rights, but it is thought to grant a place more prestige and increase the number of visitors.
If Marazion is successful and becomes the UK’s smallest city after St Davids in Wales, it will ‘further raise the profile of Marazion, stimulate local businesses and prosper the community in the immediate locality and beyond,’ chair of the town’s Chamber of Commerce Paul Elliott said.
The likes of Reading and Boston, meanwhile, are relying on their rich heritage to give them an advantage.
Tourist hotspot Marazion (pictured), which is on the Cornish coast, has just 1,440 residents but it hoping to be granted city status
Ministers will work with an expert panel to make their recommendations from the extensive list before it is handed to the Queen for approval.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay said: ‘Today’s announcement is a celebration of the rich and diverse communities which make up not only the United Kingdom, but also our friends further afield in the Falklands, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands.
‘City status is not only about local pride, it can deliver real levelling up benefits for businesses and the local area which is clear from the high number of applications.’
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay (pictured) said: ‘Today’s announcement is a celebration of the rich and diverse communities which make up not only the United Kingdom, but also our friends further afield in the Falklands, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands
At the previous Royal celebration – the Golden Jubilee in 2002 – Preston and Newport were made cities, while the Millenium celebrations two years prior saw Brighton and Hove and Wolverhampton.
John Boydell, the Chair of the Preston Improvement District, said their city status ‘brought Preston to mind as a place to do business’.
There are also 12 cities, including Bath, Sunderland and Southampton, applying for Lord Provost or Lord Mayor status.
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