Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: These three Yorkshire towns could become cities

In Yorkshire, three towns are vying for city status: Doncaster in South Yorkshire, Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, and Goole in the East Riding.

Bournemouth, Reading, and Warrington are among 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