Three NI towns vying for city status as part of Queen's Platinum Jubilee competition - Belfast Live

Thirty-nine places across the UK and British Overseas Territories could be granted city status as part of a competition to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

Bournemouth, Reading, Doncaster and Blackburn are some of the 22 towns in England wishing to become cities.

In Scotland, eight areas have applied, including Dumfries and St Andrews, and in Wales, Wrexham has submitted a bid.

In Northern Ireland, Ballymena, Coleraine and Bangor are in the competition.

For the first time ever, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies were also eligible to apply for the title.

Stanley in the Falkland Islands, almost 8,000 miles away, is one of the places to apply, and there are also entries from George Town in the Cayman Islands and Gibraltar.

According to the Cabinet Office, winning city status can provide a boost to local communities and open up new opportunities for people who live there.

The Cabinet Office has also announced the 12 cities which are vying for Lord Provost or Lord Mayor status, including Newport and Perth - which previously won city status to mark the Queen's Golden and Diamond Jubilees respectively.

Some of the other cities applying are Bath, Inverness, Newport and Lancaster.

The competition is part of celebrations to mark the Queen's historic 70-year reign, with a special four-day bank holiday weekend set to start on Thursday June 2.

As part of their bids, applicants were asked to talk about the distinct identity and community which they feel means their area deserves to become a city, as well as evidence of links to royalty.

Unlike previous Civic Honours competitions, an expert panel will work closely with ministers to make their recommendations, which will then be approved by the Queen.

The final decision will be taken in spring 2022 and announced shortly afterwards.

List of places which applied for city status:

Alcester, Warwickshire
Ballymena, County Antrim
Bangor, County Down
Blackburn, Lancashire
Bolsover, Derbyshire
Boston, Lincolnshire
Bournemouth, Dorset
Coleraine, County Londonderry
Colchester, Essex
Crawley, West Sussex
Crewe, Cheshire
Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Dorchester, Dorset
Douglas, Isle of Man
Dudley, West Midlands
Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway
Dunfermline, Fife
Elgin, Moray
George Town, Cayman Islands
Gibraltar, Gibraltar
Goole, East Yorkshire
Greenock, Renfrewshire
Guildford, Surrey
Livingston, West Lothian
Marazion, Cornwall
Medway, Kent
Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Newport and Carisbrooke, Hampshire
Northampton, Northamptonshire
Oban, Argyll and Bute
Reading, Berkshire
Peel, Isle of Man
St Andrews, Fife
Stanley, Falkland Islands
South Ayrshire, Ayrshire and Arran
Warrington, Cheshire
Warwick, Warwickshire
Wrexham, Clwyd

List of cities which applied for Lord Provost/Lord Mayor status:

Bath, Somerset
Derby, Derbyshire
Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Inverness, Inverness
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Newport, Gwent
Perth, Perth and Kinross
Southampton, Hampshire
Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
Wolverhampton, West Midlands
Worcester, Worcestershire

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2021-12-23 06:52:44Z
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