Dunfermline and Greenock are among eight Scottish areas vying to win city status with 31 others as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The Fife and Renfrewshire towns are joined by Dumfries, Elgin, Livingston, Oban, St Andrews and South Ayrshire in the short list.
The competition is part of royal celebrations marking the Queen’s 70-year reign on throne and will kick off a special four-day bank holiday weekend set to start on Thursday June 2.
Twenty-two English areas are in the running with three entries from Northern Ireland, one from Wales and, 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 8000 miles away, is one of the places to make the short list, and there are also entries from George Town in the Cayman Islands and Gibraltar.
The event will also see two Scottish cities compete with ten others for Lord Provost or Lord Mayor status.
Perth and Inverness will be taking on cities such as Sunderland in England and Newport in Wales for the honour.
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.
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
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