Bangor, County Down, to formally receive city status

Bangor in County Down will formally receive city status at an official ceremony on Friday.

It was one of eight towns elevated to a city in May after a competition to mark the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Bangor will be one of six cities in Northern Ireland, along with Belfast, Londonderry, Armagh, Lisburn and Newry.

City status is often associated with having a cathedral, university, or large population.

However, there are no set rules for being granted the status, which is awarded by the monarch on advice of ministers.

In the 2011 census, the population of Bangor was just over 60,000. It is situated beside the coast, at the mouth of Belfast Lough.

A number of famous faces come from Bangor, including the lead singer of Snow Patrol, Gary Lightbody, author Colin Bateman, golfer David Feherty and artist Colin Davidson.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Lord David Trimble, who died earlier this year, spent much of his early life in the town, attending Bangor Grammar, one of 19 schools in the area.

A civic reception will be held on Friday to mark the conferment of city status, with the handing over of the official document, known as letters patent.

City status was granted by the Queen, three months before her death in September.

Bangor was required to show its royal associations and cultural heritage.

Its application pointed out that in 1961, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited Bangor Castle and had lunch at the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, before the duke raced in a regatta.

In the past, it was a seaside resort which was popular with day trippers and tourists who gathered on the beach in front of the town. In the late 1980s, a marina was built, transforming the seafront.

Like many places, it has been hit hard by the building of shopping centres on the outskirts of the central district.

There are plans in place to try to rejuvenate Bangor, with the hope that its new city status will help.

The city’s courthouse was recently turned into a music venue, and other projects are in the pipeline.

Twenty years ago, Lisburn and Newry were awarded city status in a competition to mark the Queen’s golden jubilee.