Southampton celebrates 60 years of City Status
Southampton will celebrate 60 years of being a city on Saturday 24 February, with a series of activities across the city to mark the occasion
Southampton was granted city status by a royal charter on 24 February 1964. The idea of city status first came up in the 1930s to honour King George V’s Silver Jubilee, but World War II and subsequent austerity delayed the application until 1958. The reasons for seeking city status were Southampton’s growth, its significance in shipping and the economy, its history of public administration, efficient municipal services, and a record of public and voluntary service. Other factors included charity work, preservation of historical records and customs, and fostering citizenship.
60 years on, Southampton is celebrating this important milestone by sharing some of the fantastic achievements from various sectors across the city.
Library Events
At Portswood, Woolston and Bitterne libraries, families can enjoy a hot drink, some cake and Southampton themed activities to celebrate 60 years of city status, organised by local friends of libraries groups. People are also being encouraged to bring in photographs from the last 60 years to build a historical display at Central Library.
City Archives
The Council’s Archive team have pulled together a webpage of previously unseen documents and photographs from the last 60 years, including the Royal charters.
The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Valerie Laurent said: "It’s hard to believe that our fantastic city only has 60 years of city status behind it when you consider all that has been achieved. Milestones such as these bring the people of Southampton together. I hope everyone can take some time this coming weekend to reflect on something personal to them as well as thinking about what a future Southampton could look like for them."
Councillor Lorna Fielker, Leader of Southampton City Council said: "The last 60 years, Southampton has proven to be a diverse, cultural city of opportunity and sanctuary. As a city, we want to continue to grow, provide for our people and be a safe haven for those in need. We’ve achieved so much together over the decades and I’m excited to see what the future holds."
Southampton-based organisations will also mark the occasion on Saturday 24 February as follows:
- Southampton Football Club will be encouraging a minute of applause during the 60th minute of their game against Millwall and sharing some of the club’s achievements over the last 60 years.
- Port operating company DP World plan on getting creative with shipping containers, spelling out ‘Southampton 1964-2024’.
- ABP will encourage all ships in port to sound their whistles at midday to mark the occasion.
- University of Southampton will be celebrating alumni stories and other factors that helped them reach the rankings of 12th best university in the UK and 81st in the world. On Saturday 24 February, there will be a Special Collections blog - 60 years in the city - reflecting on the University's connection with the city over the last 60 years. It will be accompanied by a number of tweets from @hartleyspecialc also scheduled on the same day. Turner Sims theatre will also be sharing some of their achievements from over the years.
- NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight will be highlighting University Hospital Southampton’s (UHS) place within the city, its contributions, achievements, and ambitions for the future.
- Southampton Voluntary Services (SVS) was founded in 1968. Since then, SVS has helped many voluntary organisations to establish and support countless people to volunteer. SVS will continue to showcase the voluntary sector, celebrate its contributions to Southampton and encourage the city’s residents to help others through volunteering.
Further information can be found on the dedicated Visit Southampton webpage.
The logo and a children’s activity sheet are available to download:
| Document | Type | Size |
|---|---|---|
| 60 Years Of City Status Activity Sheet | 297.0 KB | |
| 60 Years Of City Status Logo Guidelines | 1.1 MB | |
| 60 Year Anniversary Colour Ribbon SVG | svg | 19.3 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary White SVG | svg | 11.9 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Mono SVG | svg | 11.9 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Mono Ribbon SVG | svg | 12.2 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Colour SVG | svg | 18.8 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Colour PNG | png | 30.1 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Colour Ribbon PNG | png | 34.1 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary White PNG | png | 17.3 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Mono PNG | png | 18.3 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Mono Ribbon PNG | png | 23.0 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Colour | ai | 79.7 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Colour Ribbon | ai | 76.9 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary White | ai | 58.0 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Mono | ai | 71.1 KB |
| 60 Year Anniversary Mono Ribbon | ai | 68.9 KB |
