City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the monarch of the United Kingdom to a select group of communities. As of 26 January 2022, there are 70 cities in the United Kingdom—52 in England, six in Wales, seven in Scotland, and five in Northern Ireland. Although it carries no special rights, the status of city can be a marker of prestige and confer local pride.
Since 1 April 1996, Wales has been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas, styled as counties or county boroughs for local government purposes. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environmental protection, and most highways. Below these there are also elected community councils to which responsibility for specific aspects of the application of local policy may be devolved. The last set of local elections in Wales took place in 2022, with the next due to take place in 2027.
Wrexham is a market town and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, where it borders with the county of Cheshire in England. Historically in the county of Denbighshire, the town became part of the county of Clwyd in 1974 and then the principal settlement of the Wrexham County Borough in 1996.
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England. The ceremonial county spawned from the historic County Palatine of Durham in 1853. In 1996, the county gained part of the abolished ceremonial county of Cleveland. The largest settlement in the county is Darlington, followed by Hartlepool, and then Stockton-on-Tees. The county town is the city of Durham. The county borders Cumbria to the west, North Yorkshire to the south, and Tyne and Wear & Northumberland to the north.
Wrexham County Borough is a county borough in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the north-west. The county borough has a population of 136,055, and the town of Wrexham as its largest settlement with 43,422 residents. Wrexham, together with villages such as Gwersyllt, New Broughton, Bradley and Rhostyllen form a built-up area with 65,692 residents. Other villages in the county borough include Ruabon, Rhosllanerchrugog, Johnstown, Acrefair, Bangor-on-Dee, and Coedpoeth amongst other villages. The county borough has two outlying towns, Chirk and Holt, and various rural settlements in the county borough's large salient in the Ceiriog Valley, and the English Maelor.
Southampton is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately 70 mi (110 km) south-west of London and 15 mi (24 km) west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Portsmouth and the towns of Havant, Waterlooville, Eastleigh, Fareham and Gosport.
UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration for the year. The UK-wide programme, which is administered by the UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in collaboration with the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, is to "build on the success of Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture 2008, which had significant social and economic benefits for the area". Bids solely in Greater London are excluded from the competition, although boroughs and places in the UK capital may submit a joint bid with a city or place outside of Greater London.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's association football (soccer) championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries; 60 matches, including the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and the final, will be hosted by the United States while neighboring Canada and Mexico will each host 10 matches. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations. This tournament will be the first to include 48 teams, expanded from 32.
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Armagh City and District Council, Banbridge District Council and Craigavon Borough Council. The first elections to the authority were on 22 May 2014 and it acted as a shadow authority, before the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon district was created on 1 April 2015. In October 2021, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon was longlisted for the UK City of Culture 2025, but failed to make it onto the March 2022 shortlist.
Hull UK City of Culture 2017 was a designation given to the city of Kingston upon Hull, England, between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2020 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The designation means that Hull gains access to funding to improve its infrastructure and arts facilities, and will host a series of events celebrating local culture. Hull was selected in 2013 to become the second UK City of Culture since the initiative began in 2013, succeeding Derry.
The Great Exhibition of the North was a two-month exhibition, celebrating art, culture, and design in the North of England, held in Newcastle and Gateshead between 22 June and 9 September 2018.
Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 is a designation given to the city of Coventry, England, between 2021 and 2025 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The designation means that Coventry gains access to funding to improve its infrastructure and arts facilities, and will host a series of events celebrating local culture. Coventry was selected in 2017 to become the third UK City of Culture since the initiative began in 2013.
The 2030 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXVI Olympic Winter Games, is an upcoming international multi-sport event.
Bangkok–Chonburi is an official bid for the Summer Youth Olympics by the city of Bangkok and the province of Chonburi and the National Olympic Committee of Thailand. The bid was originally made for the 2026 Games, but after the postponement of the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar to 2026, the earliest Thailand could host the games became 2030. It was the second time of Thailand and the city of Bangkok bid the Youth Olympic Games after conceding to Singapore in the bidding for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.
Shanaz Gulzar is a British visual artist. She specialises in stage design and digital and installation work and has been a producer at the Manchester International Festival.
The 2022 Gay Games, also known as Gay Games 11, GGHK2022 and Hong Kong - Guadalajara Gay Games 2022, is an upcoming international multi-sport event and cultural gathering organised by, and specifically for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and musicians, known as Gay Games.
As part of the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II awarded a number of civic honours, most notably the creation of new cities in a competition. Another competition for lord mayor or lord provost status was held.
The 2022 Wrexham County Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect 56 members to Wrexham County Borough Council, the principal council of Wrexham County Borough, Wales. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities, and community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. The previous Wrexham County Borough all-council election took place in May 2017 and future elections will take place every five years, with the next scheduled for 2027.
The bidding process for UK City of Culture 2025 was the process to award the designation UK City of Culture to a city or area in the United Kingdom, in which the winner hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration throughout 2025. The title is awarded by the UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The 2025 City of Culture is the fourth city to hold the title since the programme began in 2013, following those of Derry~Londonderry, Hull, and Coventry. The competition for the 2025 holder was launched on 29 May 2021, with the deadline to submit bids being 19 July 2021. On 18 March 2022, Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough were the last four shortlisted bids in the competition. On 31 May 2022, Bradford was announced as the winning bid, with the three runners-up receiving £125,000, the first time the runners-up receive a prize.
