8 UK locations granted city status for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

A record number of eight locations across the UK have won prestigious city status through a competition as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the British government announced on Friday.

The competition to receive civic honours was last run 10 years ago to mark the 96-year-old monarch's Diamond Jubilee, and this year for the first time ever the competition for city status was open to applications from the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, with the Falklands' Stanley and Douglas of the Isle of Man among the winners. The other locations to win the city status bid include Bangor in Northern Ireland, Dunfermline in Scotland, Wrexham in Wales, and Colchester, Doncaster and Milton Keynes in England.

"City Status is a huge accolade and I congratulate our eight brilliant winners. This competition showcases the best of Britain and the Overseas Territories and will act as a lasting legacy of Her Majesty Queen's Platinum Jubilee," said UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.

Winning city status can provide a boost to local communities and open up new opportunities for people who live there, as is the case with previous winners where residents have described how their success contributed to increased national and global standing, putting them on the international map as a place to do business.

"What was clear to me during the process of assessing each application was the pride that people felt for their communities, local cultural heritage and the Royal Family," said Steve Barclay, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who was part of the assessing process.

Applications were opened last year and almost 40 locations from across the UK and beyond put forward their bid to become a city. "Letters Patent" will now be prepared which will confer each of the awards formally and will be presented to winners later in the year.

The Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition required applicants to demonstrate how their unique communities and distinct local identity meant they deserved to be awarded city status. They were also required to highlight their royal associations and cultural heritage. The competition for city status has taken place in each of the last three jubilee years, with previous winners including Chelmsford, Lisburn and Newport.

The UK is marking 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign this year, with a series of Platinum Jubilee celebrations and events planned over the course of the year.

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