Professor John Beckett comments on ‘Why do towns want to become cities?’ on BBC news.
Professor Beckett is in some demand from the media in the run up to a City Status competition in 2012. Applications from towns that would be cities closed on 27 May and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport will now sift through them with a view to making a recommendation to the Queen as to which town, or towns, should be granted city status in conjunction with her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Cities have been made by royal appointment, which has in practice meant the government of the day, since the nineteenth century, and in recent years there has usually been a competition in conjunction with a royal event such as the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and now her Diamond Jubilee. The status is sought after because it is believed to deliver long run financial benefits to the successful candidates, partly because (or so it is claimed) being a city counts for more in the international arena than being a town.
Professor Beckett wrote a book, City Status in the British Isles, 1830-2002, which was published after the competition at the time of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and so, perhaps not surprisingly, as the announcement of a winner comes nearer, he is in demand to talk to local radio stations and the press about the process.
Posted on Friday 24th June 2011