Platinum Jubilee: Photos of eight new cities wey UK just create

    • Author, Mary O'Connor
    • Role, BBC News
  • Published

Eight new cities go dey created for di Queen Platinum Jubilee, wit at least one inside every UK nation and on di Falkland Islands and Isle of Man.

Milton Keynes for England, Dunfermline for Scotland, Bangor for Northern Ireland and Wrexham for Wales all get di title.

E be di first for places for di Overseas Territory - Stanley,for di Falklands - and one crown dependency - Douglas, in di Isle of Man - to win city status.

Colchester and Doncaster complete di list to get di royal honour.

Applicants bin show dia cultural heritage and royal connect.

Di Platinum Jubilee civic honours competition also need places to show how dia local identity and communities mean say dem deserve to gbab city status.

Di new cities fit expect boost to local communities and open up new opportunities for pipo wey live there, di Cabinet Office tok.

Di last competition to win civic honours bin run one decade ago to mark di Queen Diamond Jubilee. For di first time dis year, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories dey allowed to apply.

Di announcement of di latest honours take di number of official cities for mainland UK to 76, wit 55 for England, eight for Scotland, seven for Wales and six for Northern Ireland.

Di winners and details from dia bids for city status include:

Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland

  • Population: 61,011
  • Due to im location for di mouth of di Belfast Lough, Bangor be one key site for di Allies during di Second World War
  • For May 1944, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces Dwight D Eisenhower, wey later become US president, give one speech to 30,000 assembled troops for Bangor shortly bifo ships commot for Normandy and di D-Day landings.
  • Di Queen and Duke of Edinburgh bin visit Bangor Castle for 1961 and, afta lunching for di Royal Ulster Yacht Club dat day, di duke bin take part for regatta race.

Colchester, Essex, England

  • Population: 119,441
  • Colchester be Britain first recorded settlement and e be first capital
  • E be one shield town for di past 165 years and for di past 21 years be home to 16 Air Assault Brigade, di UK rapid response force
  • Recently, 750 soldiers from Colchester dey sent to Kabul to helep commot UK citizens and odas

Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England

  • Population: 110,000
  • Originally e be one Roman settlement, e be almost 2,000 years old
  • E dey popular for im railway heritage, dem build di Flying Scotsman and di Mallard locomotives for dia.
  • E be also home to di St Leger flat course, wey dey founded for 1776 and be di oldest classic horse race for di world. Di Queen and oda royals throughout history don attend di St Leger festival
  • Afta Doncaster dey hit by flood for 2019, locals bin show dia community spirit for di relief effort

Douglas, Isle of Man

  • Population: 26,677 (2021 census)
  • Di Queen be patron of di Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) wey bin start for Douglas
  • Im Royal Hall play host to annual flagship concerts by di Isle of Man Symphony Orchestra, di Isle of Man Choral Society and di Manx Last Night of di Proms

Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

  • Population: 58,508
  • Dia annual fireworks display dey attract some 30,000 local pipo, while di Christmas light event pack di town centre wit 10,000 pipo.
  • Dunfermline most popular son be Andrew Carnegie,wey im steel industry help build America.
  • Im philanthropy start di world public library system, and e bin give away di equal of £65bn for today moni
  • E be one of di seats of di kings of Scotland for di middle ages. Robert di Bruce dey buried for Dunfermline Abbey afta im death for 1329.

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England

  • Population: 171,750 (2011 census), although Milton Keynes Council quote im "urban area" population (including di neighbouring towns of Bletchley, Newport Pagnell and Woburn Sands) as 248,800.
  • E dey created for 1967 to alleviate housing shortages for overcrowded London
  • E get 27 conservation areas, 50 scheduled monuments, 1,100 listed buildings and 270 works of public art
  • Di Open University, di world first degree-awarding, distance learning institution, dey set up for Milton Keynes for 1967; and im University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust wey establish di nation first independent medical school
  • Milton Keynes be also di home of MK Dons football club, wey dem form for 2004 afta Wimbledon relocate dia.

Stanley, Falkland Islands

  • Population: 2,458 for 2016, according to im most recent census
  • Members of di Royal Family don regularly visit di islands, including di late Duke of Edinburgh for 1957. For 2016, di Duke of Cambridge bin spend six weeks for di islands as search and rescue helicopter pilot
  • Holidays and events wey dey specific to di islands dey hold everi year annually - like Peat Cutting Monday.Di sacrifice dem make during di Falklands War also dey remembered - 2022 mark 40 years since di gbege

Wrexham, north east Wales

  • Population: 61,603
  • E dey Established for 1864, Wrexham Football Club dey amongdi oldest professionalf ootball clubs for di UK and dey owned by Hollywood stars di actor Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, be creator of Im Always Sunny for Philadelphia
  • Di area be home to di Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, one Unesco World Heritage site
  • Some businesses and industries base dia, including JCB, Kellogg and aerospace firms including Magellen and Cytec

Almost 40 locations bin submitted bids for city status wen applications opened last year.

City status often dey associated to get one cathedral, university, or large population, but no set rules to dey granted di status, wey dey awarded by di monarch on advice of ministers.

Each new city go kollect di award formally through Letters Patent, wey go dey presented later in di year.