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• Announcement of Golden Jubilee City Status Competition
• Grant of City Status
• Additional Functions/Powers Conferred by City Status
• Criteria
• Suggested Indicators
• Awards Since 1900 [as at 14 March 2002]
• UK Cities
  
  
• Frequently asked questions
  
  
• The Queen's Golden Jubilee website

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Announcement of Golden Jubilee City Status Competition

On 27 October 1998, the then Home Secretary (Jack Straw) announced that the Queen had expressed the intention of marking both the Millennium and the 50th Anniversary of Her Accession to the throne by grants of city status.

On 18 December 2000, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office (Mike O'Brien) announced that The Queen had agreed to the Prime Minister's recommendation that Her Golden Jubilee should be marked, exceptionally, by grants of city status to a suitably qualified town in each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

On 23 July 2001, the Lord Chancellor announced in a written answer to a Parliamentary Question that the competitions for city status and Lord Mayoralty would be launched on 25 July 2001, with the closing date of 12 October 2001.

The details are contained in a press notice issued on 25 July.

Grant of City Status

City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of the Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers.

Additional Functions/Powers Conferred by City Status

The grant of city status is purely honorific; it confers no additional powers or functions on the town.

Criteria

City status is not, and never has been, a right which can be claimed by a town fulfilling certain conditions. The use of specific criteria could lead to a town claiming city status as of right, which in turn might devalue the honour. All applications are considered on their individual merits.

Awards Since 1900

2002	Preston Newport Stirling Lisburn Newry
2000	Brighton & Hove Inverness Wolverhampton
1994	Armagh St David's
1992	Sunderland (40th Anniversary of Queen's Accession to the throne)
1977	Derby (Queen's Silver Jubilee)
1969	Swansea (Investiture of HRH The Prince of Wales)
1964	Southampton
1951	Cambridge
1937	Lancaster (George VI's Coronation)
1928	Plymouth
1926	Portsmouth Salford
1925	Stoke-on-Trent
1919	Leicester
1905	Cardiff

UK Cities

Following the Golden Jubillee city status competition, there are now 66 cities in the UK - 50 in England, 5 in Wales, 6 in Scotland and 5 in Northern Ireland.

Frequently asked questions

Who awards city status?

• City status is an honour granted by Her Majesty the Queen under the Royal Prerogative, acting on the advice of Ministers.

Who is responsible for advising The Queen?

• With the changes in the machinery of government after the 2001 General Election, responsibility for advising Her Majesty on civic honours and other Royal matters has passed from the Home Secretary to the Lord Chancellor.

Which other Ministers are involved?

• As appropriate, the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions.

Do the devolved administrations have a say?

• City status is a reserved matter throughout the United Kingdom and is therefore a matter for UK Government Ministers; but any comments which the devolved administrations may wish to make on the applications from the relevant countries will be taken into account.

Who decides when there will be a competition?

• It is for Her Majesty the Queen to decide when a competition for city status should be held. Competitions are usually held on occasions such as important Royal anniversaries.
• The Home Secretary announced on 26 October 1998, in answer to a written Parliamentary Question, that Her Majesty had expressed an intention to mark the Millennium and the 50th Anniversary of Her Accession to the throne by grants of city status.

Can anyone apply for their town to become a city?

• No. The application has to come from the local authority.

How is the award bestowed?

• Letters Patent, although a number of very old cities have city status by Ancient Prescriptive Usage.

Which towns were granted city status to mark the Millennium?

• Brighton & Hove, Inverness and Wolverhampton.

Which other towns applied for the Millennium city status competition?

• Thirty-nine applications for the Millennium grant were received, from 27 English, 6 Welsh, 4 Scottish and 2 Northern Irish towns. In addition to the three towns that were granted city status (see previous answer), they comprised:

English Applicants

Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Chelmsford, Colchester, Croydon, Doncaster, Dover, Guildford, Ipswich, Luton, Maidstone, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Preston, Reading, Shrewsbury & Atcham, Southend on Sea, Southwark, Stockport, Swindon, Telford and Warrington

Welsh Applicants

Aberystwyth, Machynlleth, Newport, Newtown, St Asaph and Wrexham

Scottish Applicants

Ayr, Paisley and Stirling

Northern Irish Applicants

Ballymena and Lisburn

Have they all been invited to apply for the Golden Jubilee competition?

• Yes. They have also been given the option of having their application for the Millennium competition reconsidered for the Golden Jubilee competition.

How many towns will be granted city status to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee?

• It was announced on 18 December 2000 that Her Majesty The Queen had agreed to the Prime Minister's recommendation that Her Golden Jubilee be marked by the grant of city status to a suitably qualified town from each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

How does a town qualify for city status?

• Towns known to be interested in the honour are invited to apply for city status by way of a competition. City status is not a right that can be claimed by a town fulfilling certain criteria. Each application is considered on its individual merits.

Why are there no criteria?

• The use of specific criteria could lead to a town claiming city status as of right, which in turn might devalue the honour.

Must a city have a cathedral?

• No.

What guidance has been given to potential applicants?

• Towns known to be interested in applying for city status have been told that the following main factors will be taken into account by Ministers:
  • notable features, including significance regionally; significance within England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and/or significance within the United Kingdom as a whole;
  • historical (including Royal) considerations; and
  • a forward-looking attitude.
  While some suggestions have been given to towns of the types of factors that might be mentioned under these three broad headings, it has been emphasised that applicants should decide for themselves how best to demonstrate that they have these qualities, and that Ministers will wish to consider applications "in the round", to get a balanced view of each town's qualities. No details will be given of the reasons for towns' success, or lack of success, in the competition.

When will the results of the Golden Jubilee competition be announced?

• The closing date for the submission of applications or new material is 12 October 2001. No date has yet been set for the announcement of the results, but it is expected to be in the early months of 2002.

Can unsuccessful towns appeal against the decision?

• No. There is no right of appeal against a decision made by the Sovereign under the Royal Prerogative.

There is also to be an award of Lord Mayoralty for the Golden Jubilee. How does a town apply for a Lord Mayoralty?

• Only cities can apply for this honour. It is an exceptional distinction conferred on the Mayors of a few - usually long-established and important - cities. (See the Golden Jubilee Lord Mayoralty competition.)

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