SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

Features

Race to become Platinum Jubilee city enters new phase

Queen Elizabeth II

The competition for city status, being held to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, is now in its final stages.

Entry to the contest has closed – the final date for submitting applications was December 8th 2021.

Towns across the UK have put themselves forward for the honour. Among the contenders is the Cornish resort of Marazion which, with just over 1,400 residents, would be the country’s smallest city if it were to win.

A decision on which areas will be given city status will be announced in 2022, the year that The Queen marks the 70th anniversary of her reign.

In 2012, for her Diamond Jubilee, city status was given to Chelmsford in Essex, St. Asaph in Wales, Armagh in Northern Ireland and Perth in Scotland. The Platinum Jubilee contest doesn’t specify how many awards will be made in 2022.

One town that was a favourite to gain the status for the Platinum Jubilee has become a city during the application process. Southend-on-Sea in Essex was made a city in honour of the campaigning work of Sir David Amess, one of its MPs, who was killed at a constituency surgery in October 2021.

City status has been conferred to mark major royal milestones. The Platinum Jubilee competition is different from others, though, as it is also open to areas in Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.

Existing cities have also been invited to apply to become a Lord Mayoralty, or Lord Provostship in Scotland.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.