Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours
{{Short description|2022 civic honours in the United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
File:Aerial photo Port Stanley edit.jpg, Falkland Islands was one of the winners of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours.]]
As part of the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II awarded a number of civic honours, most notably the creation of new cities in a competition.{{Cite web|title=Prestigious civic honours to be awarded by Her Majesty The Queen for first time in 10 years|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prestigious-civic-honours-to-be-awarded-by-her-majesty-the-queen-for-first-time-in-10-years|access-date=2021-12-28|website=GOV.UK|language=en}} Another competition for lord mayor or lord provost status was held.
It was announced on 8 June 2021 by Lord True.{{Cite web|title=Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament|url=https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-06-08/hlws73|access-date=2021-12-28|website=questions-statements.parliament.uk|language=en}} It was organised by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and led by Secretary of State Oliver Dowden.{{Cite web|title=Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/platinum-jubilee-civic-honours-competition|access-date=2021-12-28|website=GOV.UK|language=en}} The winners were announced on 20 May 2022, with the eight towns announced to be awarded city status being Bangor (Northern Ireland), Colchester, Doncaster, Douglas (Isle of Man), Dunfermline, Milton Keynes, Stanley (Falkland Islands), and Wrexham. Southampton won the lord mayor title.{{cite web |title=Southampton welcomes new Lord Mayor in annual Mayor Making ceremony |url=https://www.southampton.gov.uk/news/article/lord-mayor-making-2023/ |website=Southampton City Council |access-date=22 August 2023}}
Background
City status in the United Kingdom is purely honorary – it confers no special rights or privileges, beyond the entitlement to call the settlement a city. Nevertheless many local authorities seek to become cities, for the additional prestige and tourism it generates. Since the 19th century, the elevation of a town (or borough) to city status has been used by the monarch to mark significant occasions: in 1897, on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, Bradford, Kingston upon Hull, and Nottingham were granted city status.{{cite journal |last1=Beckett |first1=John |title=Inventing and reinventing the modern city: the 2012 city status competition in the United Kingdom |journal=Urban History |date=November 2014 |volume=41 |issue=4 |doi=10.1017/S0963926813001053|page=711|doi-access=free }} The first awarding of city status by Queen Elizabeth II was Southampton in 1964, followed by Swansea in 1969.{{cite news |last1=Symon |first1=Penny |title=Queen met with flowers, gifts and some groans |work=The Times |issue=60,068 |date=29 July 1977 |page=2|issn=0140-0460}} For the Silver Jubilee of 1977, Derby was elevated to city status,{{cite news |title=Derby marks 40 years as city |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-nottinghamshire-40751029 |access-date=2022-01-05 |work=BBC News |date=28 July 2017}} and in 1992, Sunderland was awarded city status for her Ruby Jubilee.{{cite news |last1=Davenport |first1=Peter |title=Sunderland casts off ailing past to win city status |work=The Times |issue=64,256 |date=15 February 1992 |page=2|issn=0140-0460}}
Similar city status awards were presented for the Millennium in 2000 (Brighton and Hove, Inverness, Wolverhampton) and for the Golden Jubilee in 2002 (Preston, Newport, Stirling, Lisburn, and Newry).{{cite news |title=Five new cities creates row |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1872577.stm |access-date=2022-01-05 |work=BBC News |date=14 March 2002}}
For the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, 26 towns applied to become cities: Bolton, Bournemouth, Chelmsford, Colchester, Coleraine, Corby, Craigavon, Croydon, Doncaster, Dorchester, Dudley, Dumfries, Gateshead, Goole, Luton, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Perth, Reading, Southend, St Asaph, St Austell, Stockport, Tower Hamlets and Wrexham.{{cite news |title=More than 25 towns bid for Diamond Jubilee city status |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13796689 |access-date=2022-01-05|work=BBC News |date=16 June 2011}} However, the town of Dumfries was later excluded from the process because the application had not been submitted by the local authority.{{cite news |title=Dumfries considers revived bid for city status |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-57567890 |access-date=2022-01-05 |work=BBC News |date=23 June 2021}} Chelmsford, Perth and St. Asaph were subsequently chosen for city status.{{cite news|title=Three towns win city status for Diamond Jubilee|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17364651|access-date=18 March 2022|work=BBC News|date=14 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425183250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17364651|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=live}}
Process
On 8 June 2021, the government announced a new competition for city status for towns across the United Kingdom, crown dependencies and overseas territories, to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.{{cite news |title=Prestigious civic honours to be awarded by Her Majesty The Queen for first time in 10 years |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prestigious-civic-honours-to-be-awarded-by-her-majesty-the-queen-for-first-time-in-10-years |access-date=18 December 2021 |work=GOV.UK |date=8 June 2021}} Southend-on-Sea intended to apply, however after local MP David Amess was murdered in October 2021, the Queen agreed to confer city status on Southend; Amess had campaigned for twenty years to make Southend a city.{{cite news |last1=Kingsley |first1=Thomas |title=Southend falls silent to mark one week since MP’s murder |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-amess-southend-silence-community-b1943483.html%3f |access-date=2022-01-05 |work=The Independent |date=22 October 2021}}{{cite news |title=Sir David Amess: Southend to become a city in honour of MP |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-58956615 |access-date=2022-01-05 |work=BBC News |date=18 October 2021}} On 1 March 2022, Charles, Prince of Wales presented the letters patent on behalf of the Queen, in the council chamber at Southend Civic Centre, officially granting city status to the town.{{Cite news |date=2022-03-01 |title=Southend: Prince Charles presents city status document |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-60568792 |access-date=2022-03-01}}
The deadline for bids to the Platinum Jubilee competitions for becoming a city was 8 December 2021.{{cite web |last1=Sandford |first1=Mark |title=What makes a city? |url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/what-makes-a-city/ |website=commonslibrary.parliament.uk |access-date=19 December 2021 |date=13 July 2020}} For the first time in the city status process, towns located on Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories were eligible to apply. This attracted bids from the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar.{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Anita |title=Far-flung Stanley in quest for city status to mark jubilee |work=The Daily Telegraph |issue=51,820 |date=23 December 2021 |page=3|issn=0307-1235}} The winners were announced on 20 May 2022.{{cite news |last1=Cromar |first1=Chris |title=39 places bid for city status as part of Queen’s Platinum Jubilee |url=https://www.publicsectorexecutive.com/articles/city-status-part-queens-platinum-jubilee |work=Public Sector Executive |date=2022-01-05}}{{Cite news |date=2022-05-19 |title=Platinum Jubilee: Eight new cities created in Queen's honour |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61505857 |access-date=2022-05-20}}
Although Gibraltar's bid was refused, when researchers looked through the National Archives, they found that it had already been recognised as a city by Queen Victoria in 1842.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62710553|title=Gibraltar is officially a city - 180 years late|date=29 August 2022|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}
Applicants for city status
Thirty-nine towns and villages (including one county) across the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies participated in the competition. A unique entry was South Ayrshire which entered a countywide bid.{{Cite web|title=Who's competing against South Ayrshire in UK 'city bid' fight?|url=https://www.ayradvertiser.com/news/19804497.south-ayrshires-38-city-status-competitors-revealed/|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Ayr Advertiser|language=en}}
On 20 May 2022, the eight winners of the civic honours were announced. The locations were in the four constituent countries of the UK, the Isle of Man and the Falkland Islands (an Overseas Territory).
The successful applicants will, upon receipt of letters patent, become cities. The settlements that applied were:{{Cite news|date=2021-12-23|title=City status: The 39 towns competing for an upgrade revealed|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-59758549|access-date=2021-12-28}}
See also
{{Jubilees of British monarchs}}
{{Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom}}
Notes
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