Interactive: Can you find these locations hoping to get city status on a map?

By Tommy Lumby, Cullen Willis and Kelly Leung

Dozens of places across the UK are waiting to see if they will be crowned the UK’s newest cities as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Some 38 communities spanning the four home nations and beyond are shortlisted for city status as part of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition.

The contest is part of a range of events to mark Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne – the first British Monarch to reign for so long.

The hopefuls include 21 locations in England, eight in Scotland, three in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.

And for the first time, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have been able to throw their hats in the ring.

That includes Stanley, the little more than 2,000-strong capital of the Falkland Islands – nearly 8,000 miles from London.

If you fancy yourself as an expert on UK geography, try our quiz to see how many of these would-be cities you can pinpoint on a map:

Applicants were asked to explain the “distinct identity and community” that meant their area deserved to become a city, as well as any royal associations.

The winners will be decided at some point this Spring and there’s no official maximum number of places that could be handed the coveted status.

In 2012, three nominees were bestowed the honour as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations – Chelmsford in the East of England, Perth in Scotland and St Asaph in Wales.

With a population of around 3,300, the latter became the second-smallest city in the UK after another Welsh city St Davids, which was granted the urban title in 1994.

Announcing the 2022 shortlist late last year, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is an exciting chance for local areas to become cities and level up opportunities for all.

“As well as fostering local pride and potential, this competition is a great way to mark Her Majesty’s 70-year reign.”

Here’s the full list of places in line 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
Medway, Kent
Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Newport and Carisbrooke, Isle of Wight
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

The exact date of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was on February 6, but celebrations will be held over a four-day bank holiday from Thursday June 2 to Sunday June 5 – including an extra bank holiday on June 3.

Earlier this year, the former town of Southend-on-Sea in Essex was officially granted city status in honour of the area’s former MP Sir David Amess.

Sir David, who died after suffering multiple stab wounds at a constituency surgery in October 2021, had long campaigned for Southend to be given the accolade.