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The identity of the second city of the United Kingdom is a subject of some disagreement. A country's second city is the city that is thought to be the second most important, usually after the capital or first city (London, in this case), according to criteria such as population size, economic and commercial importance, political importance or some cultural criteria. There is no official mechanism by which second city status is conferred on a city, and citizens and civic leaders of rival cities often argue over their conflicting claims.

Birmingham has generally been regarded as the second city of the United Kingdom since around the time of World War I,^[1] though some polls and media references have quoted Manchester as the second city (and also as the third city). Other cities in both England and Scotland have at times been considered the second city. For example, Glasgow, in Scotland, was in the past called The Second City of the Empire. During the 19th and early 20th century, the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. During some of this time Dublin was considered to be the second city.^[2]^[3]

It is perhaps even more difficult to make a distinction based on cultural factors, as all major UK cities play an important role in the cultural make-up of the country: in addition to Birmingham and Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow (European Capital of Culture for 1990), Liverpool (joint European Capital of Culture for 2008), Leeds, Sheffield, Cardiff, Newcastle upon Tyne and others all boast internationally recognised sporting, music and performing arts scenes.

History

Since the formation of the United Kingdom, several places have been described as the "second city". Dublin was the second most populous city at the time of the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, though it lost that position later in the 19th century as other cities grew through industrialisation.^[4] As such, it was often described as the second city of the UK.^[2] Dublin, and the rest of the Republic of Ireland, became independent of the UK in the 1920s.

By the early 19th century, Glasgow was frequently referred to as the second city;^[5] and during much of the 20th century it had a population of over one million, larger than that of Birmingham until the 1951 census. For example, the Official Census population for Glasgow was 0.784 million in April 1911; 1.034 million in April 1921; 1.088 million in April 1931 and 1.090 million in April 1951.^[6] However, slum clearances in the 1960s led to displacement of residents from the city centre to new communities located outside the city boundaries. This, together with local government reorganisation, resulted in the official population of Glasgow falling sharply. The Glasgow City Council area currently has a population of 600,000 although the surrounding conurbation of Greater Glasgow has a population of 1,199,629.^[7] In contrast, the population of the city of Birmingham has remained steady around the one million mark; its central population fell like Glasgow's, but the city boundaries were extended several times in the early 20th century. Occasional claims were made for Liverpool,^[8] Birmingham^[9] and Manchester.^[10]

The title Second City of Empire or Second City of the British Empire was claimed by a number of cities in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. These include Dublin,^[11] Glasgow (which continues to use the title as a marketing slogan),^[12]^[13] Liverpool;^[14]^[15] and (outside the UK) Kolkata (known as Calcutta during the British Empire)^[16] and Philadelphia.^[17]

Prior to the union with Scotland in 1707, from the English Civil War until the 18th century, Norwich was the second-largest city of England, being a major trading centre, Britain's richest provincial city and county town of Norfolk, at that time the most populous county of England.^[18] Bristol was the second wealthiest city in England in the 16th century;^[19] and by the 18th century, Bristol was often described as the second city of England.^[20] During the 19th century, claims were made for Manchester,^[21] Liverpool^[22] and York.^[23] York had also been named as the second city in earlier centuries.^[24]

Current

Birmingham or Manchester

Since World War I, Birmingham has historically been considered the second city of the United Kingdom, but recent polls and media references have indicated that Manchester is regarded as the second city.

In a 2007 survey commissioned by the BBC investigating the subject of the "'Second city' of England" (as opposed to the UK as a whole), 48% of 1,000 people said that Manchester deserves the distinction, with 40% choosing Birmingham.^[25]^[26] The BBC further reported that Manchester is close to being the second city of the UK in 2005.^[27] In a similar survey conducted by Ipsos MORI, commissioned by "Visit Manchester" (Manchester's tourism department), Manchester received the highest response for the category of second city at 34%, compared to Birmingham at 29%; and in the same poll, Manchester had the highest response for the category of third city with 27% of the vote, 6% more than the 21% for Birmingham.^[28] Only 85% of respondents put London as first City.^[29] Manchester is reported by international news media as the UK's second city,^[30] and sometimes as the UK's third city.^[31] Whereas Birmingham is almost always reported as the UK's second city in similar international news media.^[32]^[33]^[34]^[35]

Based on population within official city boundaries the City of Birmingham, the most populous local government district in Europe, is substantially larger than the City of Manchester, which is the fifth largest in the UK (2006 estimates, see List of English districts by population). However, most sources do not use formal city boundaries as the sole criterion for population comparison: for instance, the City of London, with a population of only 7,185 (2001 census), is very small, though London as a whole is the most populous city within city limits in the European Union^[36] with an official population of 7.6 million (as of 2006) and has a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million people.^[37]^[38]

The surrounding conurbations and the areas that can be considered informally part of each city are hard to define. However after the 1974 reorganisation of local government and the creation of metropolitan counties, the City of Birmingham was included with the City of Coventry and five other metropolitan boroughs (one, Wolverhampton gained city status in 2000) in a new West Midlands county. The City of Manchester joined with the neighbouring City of Salford and eight other Metropolitan boroughs within the County of Greater Manchester.

The City of Birmingham has a population of 1,006,500 (2006 estimate). It forms part of the larger West Midlands conurbation, which has a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census) and also includes the city of Wolverhampton, the towns of the Black Country, and other towns such as Solihull. The City of Manchester has a population of 452,000 (2006 estimate), while the Greater Manchester Urban Area is home to 2,240,230 people (2001 census) and also includes the City of Salford, and towns like Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Wigan. The populations of Metropolitan counties such as the West Midlands and Greater Manchester also differ slightly from those of the urban areas. Birmingham City Council (BCC) is the largest local authority in Europe and is notable for having the largest wards, by population, in the whole of the UK (each ward has approximately 18,000 voters). BCC is also the UK's largest landlord, with its Housing Department managing just under (?) council homes.^[39]^{[dead link‍]}

While the 'second city' status of any country is decided upon a variety of economic or cultural indices, both Birmingham and Manchester have shown an edge in each over the years (see also discussion of this article). For example in 2010, Manchester City Centre became second to London for new office building take-up with almost a million square foot (86,399km2) occupied in the year,^[40] whilst praise for Birmingham's striking modern architecture was sited as confirmation of its claim to second city status.^[41]

There have been a variety of Ministerial opinions on the subject for some time: these include:

David Miliband, the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, current Shadow Foreign Secretary and Member of Parliament for the constituency of South Shields, Tyne and Wear "However, if you look at Birmingham, I think a lot of people would say that it's a city, Britain's second city..." ^[42]

Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (born and raised in Birmingham), former Minister of State at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Foreign Office (former Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said "Birmingham is naturally the second most important city in Britain after London because of where she is and how important she is as part of that crossroads,".^[43] Jones later said "As a Brummie it's not easy to say, but I can find no better place than the north west in terms of having a diverse manufacturing base, whether it's engineering manufacturing at Rolls-Royce, automotive manufacturing at Bentley or pharmaceuticals manufacturing at AstraZeneca." which contradicts what he said about Birmingham being the most important base outside London. He also praised "Manchester's 'first-class global' university, knowledge and transport infrastructure were the two key factors that determined the success of a city or region."^[44]

John Prescott (born in Wales and raised in Merseyside), former Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Hull East, was also quoted as saying "Manchester - our second city", but this was later played down by his department, claiming they were made in a "light-hearted context".^[45]

Graham Stringer (born and raised in and currently representing Manchester), MP for Blackley and Broughton, responded with "Manchester has always been the second city after the capital, in many ways it is the first. Birmingham has never really been in the competition."^[45]

Sandra White (born and raised in and representing Glasgow), a Scottish National Party MSP for Glasgow, claimed "Glasgow was always seen as the second city in the Empire, and Glasgow is still the second British city. Manchester is probably the second city in England after London."^[45]

Phil Woolas (born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, living in Lees, Greater Manchester and representing the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth), Former Minister of State for the Environment - "And, of course, I, and colleagues in Manchester, am pleased to see its very sensible plans to relocate to Manchester - Britain's third city."^[46]

References

^ Hopkins, Eric (2001). Birmingham: The Making of the Second City 1850-1939. Tempus Publishing. ISBN ISBN 0-7524-2327-4. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
^ ^a ^b Sidney Edwards Morse and Jedidiah Morse, A New System of Geography, Ancient and Modern, p.177, 1824
^ Provincial Towns in Early Modern England and Ireland: Change, Convergence, and Divergence, Oxford University Press, p.22, 2002
^ BBC: "A Short History of Ireland" - "The population, which had been 58,000 in 1683, was close to 129,000 by 1772 and 182,000 including the garrison by 1798, making Dublin the second largest city in the British Empire."
^ For example, see T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland, p.566, 1816 or Spencer Walpole, A History of England from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815, p.103, 1878
^ Roberson, D. J. (1958). "Population, Past and Present". Chapter 2 in: Cunnison, J. and Gilfillan, J. B. S. (1958). The Third Statistical Account of Scotland, Volume V. The City of Glasgow. Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.
^ "Key Statistics for Settlements and Localities Scotland". General Register Office for Scotland. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
^ D. Appleton, Appletons' American Standard Geographies, p.130, 1881.
^ W. Stewart & Co., The Journal of Education, p.38, 1867.
^ Chetham Society, Remains, Historical and Literary, Connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancashire and Chester, 1862, p.531.
^ "When you remember that Dublin has been a capital for thousands of years, that it is the second city of the British Empire, that it is nearly three times as big as Venice it seems strange that no artist has given it to the world." James Joyce, Letter to Stanislaus Joyce, c. 24 September 1905 (Letters of James Joyce, vol. II, pp. 109-112. (Viking Press, 1966).
^ "The Second City". Glasgow City Council (glasgow.gov.uk).
^ W Hamish Fraser. "Second City of The Empire: 1830s to 1914". The Glasgow Story.
^ http://www.liv.ac.uk/researchintelligence/issue30/liverpool800.html Liverpool University: "... the city's pre-eminent position at the turn of the 19th century resulted from the port's willingness to handle a very wide range of cargo (including millions of migrants to the new world). Liverpool was second only to London in this respect - and this, together with its great ethnic diversity, was the basis of its claim to being the 'second city of empire'."
^ "The Empire in one city?". Manchester University Press. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
^ Tourism of India - Special Feature - Relics of the Raj
^ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania facts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania travel videos, flags, photos - National Geographic
^ Williams, Laura. "Enabling Norwich in the Knowledge Economy" (PDF). The Work Foundation web pages. The Work Foundation. p. 11. Archived from the original (pdf) on October 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ J. E. T. and A. G. L. Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, p.82, 1887
^ Charles Knight, The Popular History of England, p.8, 1859
^ Robert Southey, Letters from England, p.177, 1836
^ James Richard Joy, An Outline History of England, p.26, 1890
^ John Major, Aeneas James George Mackay and Thomas Graves Law, A History of Greater Britain as Well England as Scotland, p.xxxvi, 1892
^ John Macky, A Journey Through England, p.208, 1722
^ "Manchester tops second city poll". BBC NEWS. 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TChOJVCV3HM
^ "Manchester 'close to second city'". BBC NEWS. 2005-09-29. Retrieved 2006-05-03.
^ // Visit Manchester / Homepage //
^ "Manchester 'England's second city'". Ipsos MORI North. 2002. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
^ Britain's Second City Sandblasts Its Image - New York Times (article on Manchester)
^ "Queen closes 'stunning' games". cnn.com. Cable News Network LP, LLLP. 5 August 2002. Retrieved 2007-07-19. ... a 10-day-long sporting festival hailed by critics as a 'stunning' success for England's third city.
•Agence France-Presse (20 April 2004). "Manchester United "target" of bomb attack". Brudirect.com. Brudirect.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19. ... plotting to bomb a football ground or a shopping centre in Manchester, Britain's third city with a population of 2.6 million.
•Agence France-Presse (10 June 2007). "Church of England locks horns with Sony". channelnewsasia.com. MCN International Pte Ltd. Retrieved 2007-07-07. The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, Britain's third city, said that the game trivialises and glamourises (gun crime).
•Agence France-Presse (10 June 2007). "Church of England locks horns with Sony". Deccan Herald. The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-15. The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, Britain's third city, said that the game trivialises and glamourises (gun crime).
•SA (18 July 2007). "Three held in UK terror probe". news24. 24.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19. The arrests in Manchester, Britain's third city, are not linked to the recent failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow ...
^ What It Was, Was Britball - New York Times
^ Australia news.com.au, "...Britain's second city of Birmingham...", 28 July 2007, retrieved 31 July 2007.
^ BBC News, "Is this the nicest place to live in Britain?...Britain's second city...Birmingham...", 09 July 2003, retrieved 31 July 2007.
^ BBC, "...Britain’s second city, Birmingham...", 15 March 2006, retrieved 01 August 2007.
^ National Statistics Online
^ World Gazetteer - World: metropolitan areas
^ Demographia - Southeast England Population by Area from 1891
^ Birmingham City Council: "About the Housing Department"
^ http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1404172_commercial_property_will_continue_to_prosper_in_2011
^ http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/birmingham-britain’s-second-city.html
^ "New Labour troubles". BBC Sunday AM. BBC. 5 March 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
^ "Manchester tops second city poll". BBC News. BBC. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
^ "Jones: North west best for innovation". Manchester Evening News. 10 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Prescott ranks Manchester as second city". Manchester Evening News. M.E.N media. 3 February 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-20. We have had fantastic co-operation here in Manchester - our second city, I am prepared to concede.
^ "'Setting the Standard' - Speech by Phil Woolas MP at the fifth Annual Assembly of Standards Committees on 16 October 2006". Department for Communities and Local Government. Department for Communities and Local Government. 16 October 2006. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved 2007-09-02. And, of course, I, and colleagues in Manchester, am pleased to see its very sensible plans to relocate to Manchester - Britain's third city.

[1] Hopkins, Eric (2001). Birmingham: The Making of the Second City 1850-1939. Tempus Publishing. ISBN ISBN 0-7524-2327-4. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

[Morse-2] Sidney Edwards Morse and Jedidiah Morse, A New System of Geography, Ancient and Modern, p.177, 1824

[3] Provincial Towns in Early Modern England and Ireland: Change, Convergence, and Divergence, Oxford University Press, p.22, 2002

[4] BBC: "A Short History of Ireland" - "The population, which had been 58,000 in 1683, was close to 129,000 by 1772 and 182,000 including the garrison by 1798, making Dublin the second largest city in the British Empire."

[5] For example, see T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland, p.566, 1816 or Spencer Walpole, A History of England from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815, p.103, 1878

[6] Roberson, D. J. (1958). "Population, Past and Present". Chapter 2 in: Cunnison, J. and Gilfillan, J. B. S. (1958). The Third Statistical Account of Scotland, Volume V. The City of Glasgow. Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.

[GRO-7] "Key Statistics for Settlements and Localities Scotland". General Register Office for Scotland. Retrieved 2008-09-08.

[8] D. Appleton, Appletons' American Standard Geographies, p.130, 1881.

[9] W. Stewart & Co., The Journal of Education, p.38, 1867.

[10] Chetham Society, Remains, Historical and Literary, Connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancashire and Chester, 1862, p.531.

[11] "When you remember that Dublin has been a capital for thousands of years, that it is the second city of the British Empire, that it is nearly three times as big as Venice it seems strange that no artist has given it to the world." James Joyce, Letter to Stanislaus Joyce, c. 24 September 1905 (Letters of James Joyce, vol. II, pp. 109-112. (Viking Press, 1966).

[12] "The Second City". Glasgow City Council (glasgow.gov.uk).

[13] W Hamish Fraser. "Second City of The Empire: 1830s to 1914". The Glasgow Story.

[14] ttp://www.liv.ac.uk/researchintelligence/issue30/liverpool800.html Liverpool University: "... the city's pre-eminent position at the turn of the 19th century resulted from the port's willingness to handle a very wide range of cargo (including millions of migrants to the new world). Liverpool was second only to London in this respect - and this, together with its great ethnic diversity, was the basis of its claim to being the 'second city of empire'."

[15] "The Empire in one city?". Manchester University Press. Retrieved 2009-07-17.

[16] Tourism of India - Special Feature - Relics of the Raj

[17] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania facts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania travel videos, flags, photos - National Geographic

[18] Williams, Laura. "Enabling Norwich in the Knowledge Economy" (PDF). The Work Foundation web pages. The Work Foundation. p. 11. Archived from the original (pdf) on October 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[19] J. E. T. and A. G. L. Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, p.82, 1887

[20] Charles Knight, The Popular History of England, p.8, 1859

[21] Robert Southey, Letters from England, p.177, 1836

[22] James Richard Joy, An Outline History of England, p.26, 1890

[23] John Major, Aeneas James George Mackay and Thomas Graves Law, A History of Greater Britain as Well England as Scotland, p.xxxvi, 1892

[24] John Macky, A Journey Through England, p.208, 1722

[25] "Manchester tops second city poll". BBC NEWS. 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2007-02-10.

[26] ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TChOJVCV3HM

[27] "Manchester 'close to second city'". BBC NEWS. 2005-09-29. Retrieved 2006-05-03.

[28] // Visit Manchester / Homepage //

[29] "Manchester 'England's second city'". Ipsos MORI North. 2002. Retrieved 2007-02-09.

[30] Britain's Second City Sandblasts Its Image - New York Times (article on Manchester)

[2C2-31] "Queen closes 'stunning' games". cnn.com. Cable News Network LP, LLLP. 5 August 2002. Retrieved 2007-07-19. ... a 10-day-long sporting festival hailed by critics as a 'stunning' success for England's third city.
•Agence France-Presse (20 April 2004). "Manchester United "target" of bomb attack". Brudirect.com. Brudirect.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19. ... plotting to bomb a football ground or a shopping centre in Manchester, Britain's third city with a population of 2.6 million.
•Agence France-Presse (10 June 2007). "Church of England locks horns with Sony". channelnewsasia.com. MCN International Pte Ltd. Retrieved 2007-07-07. The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, Britain's third city, said that the game trivialises and glamourises (gun crime).
•Agence France-Presse (10 June 2007). "Church of England locks horns with Sony". Deccan Herald. The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-15. The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, Britain's third city, said that the game trivialises and glamourises (gun crime).
•SA (18 July 2007). "Three held in UK terror probe". news24. 24.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19. The arrests in Manchester, Britain's third city, are not linked to the recent failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow ...

[32] What It Was, Was Britball - New York Times

[33] Australia news.com.au, "...Britain's second city of Birmingham...", 28 July 2007, retrieved 31 July 2007.

[34] BBC News, "Is this the nicest place to live in Britain?...Britain's second city...Birmingham...", 09 July 2003, retrieved 31 July 2007.

[35] BBC, "...Britain’s second city, Birmingham...", 15 March 2006, retrieved 01 August 2007.

[36] National Statistics Online

[37] World Gazetteer - World: metropolitan areas

[38] Demographia - Southeast England Population by Area from 1891

[39] Birmingham City Council: "About the Housing Department"

[40] ttp://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1404172_commercial_property_will_continue_to_prosper_in_2011

[41] ttp://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/birmingham-britain’s-second-city.html

[42] "New Labour troubles". BBC Sunday AM. BBC. 5 March 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-01.

[43] "Manchester tops second city poll". BBC News. BBC. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-10.

[44] "Jones: North west best for innovation". Manchester Evening News. 10 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-14.

[Prescott-45] "Prescott ranks Manchester as second city". Manchester Evening News. M.E.N media. 3 February 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-20. We have had fantastic co-operation here in Manchester - our second city, I am prepared to concede.

[46] "'Setting the Standard' - Speech by Phil Woolas MP at the fifth Annual Assembly of Standards Committees on 16 October 2006". Department for Communities and Local Government. Department for Communities and Local Government. 16 October 2006. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved 2007-09-02. And, of course, I, and colleagues in Manchester, am pleased to see its very sensible plans to relocate to Manchester - Britain's third city.

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 * [[Phil Woolas]] (born in [[Scunthorpe]], [[Lincolnshire]], living in [[Lees, Greater Manchester]] and representing the constituency of [[Oldham East and Saddleworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Oldham East and Saddleworth]]), Former Minister of State for the Environment - "And, of course, I, and colleagues in Manchester, am pleased to see its very sensible plans to relocate to Manchester - Britain's third city."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.communities.gov.uk/speeches/corporate/setting-standard |title = 'Setting the Standard' - Speech by Phil Woolas MP at the fifth Annual Assembly of Standards Committees on 16 October 2006. |accessdate = 2007-09-02 |date = 16 October 2006 |work = [[Department for Communities and Local Government]] |publisher = Department for Communities and Local Government | quote = And, of course, I, and colleagues in Manchester, am pleased to see its very sensible plans to relocate to Manchester - Britain's third city. |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080216050021/http://www.communities.gov.uk/speeches/corporate/setting-standard |archivedate = February 16, 2008}}</ref>
-===Other candidates for the title===
-[[Glasgow]] is usually thought of as being just behind Birmingham and Manchester when considering the second city title.[[Edinburgh]],<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=950DE6DC1E3DF935A3575BC0A96F948260 New York Times, August 6, 1989]: "Edinburgh's castle high on the rock has looked down on many a triumph and tragedy in the proud Scots capital, but every year since 1947, Britain's ''Second City'' steals the spotlight from London during the three weeks of the international festival."</ref> [[Belfast]]<ref>{{cite news| url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E6DB133BF936A15755C0A9659C8B63 | work=The New York Times | title=LETTER FROM EUROPE; The Last Hard Case: Bleak, Stubborn Belfast | first=Warren | last=Hoge | date=2003-06-25 | accessdate=2010-05-23}}</ref> and [[Cardiff]]{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} also have a claim on the title of "second city" by virtue of their status as the respective capital cities of [[Scotland]], [[Northern Ireland]] and [[Wales]]. [[Glasgow]] and [[Liverpool]] make up the other major contenders. Both these cities have been awarded the title of [[European Capital of Culture]] in 1990 and 2008 respectively.
-=====Edinburgh=====
-In addition to being the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh is the second busiest tourist destination after London,<ref>[http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Attachments/Internet/Leisure/Arts_and_entertainment/Creative%20Scotland/Creative%20Scotland%20brochure%20web%20final.pdf http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk] "Edinburgh is the UK’s second city of tourism after London and acts as a gateway to the rest of Scotland. It generates 22% of UK and 33% of overseas tourism spend in Scotland"</ref> and since [[Scotland Act 1998|devolution]] has become the most important city after London in governmental terms, housing the [[Scottish Parliament]]. It is a growing financial centre and houses, amongst other financial and insurance companies, [[Royal Bank of Scotland]] and [[HBOS]], two of the UK's big five banks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfe.org.uk/info/overview_scottish_financial_industry|title=Overview of Scotland's Financial Industry|publisher=Scottish Financial Enterprise|accessdate=2007-01-21}}</ref> Edinburgh is also home to the world's largest arts festival every August; is the only British city to have hosted the [[Commonwealth Games]] twice (1970 and 1986); and has since the 1990s been one of the main alternatives in the UK to London for hosting major political summits, having hosted meetings of the [[European Council]] (1992), [[G8]] (2005, nearby at [[Auchterarder]] - see [[31st G8 summit]]), and the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1997|Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1997]].
-=====Glasgow=====
-'''Glasgow''' ({{pron-en|ˈɡlæzɡoʊ}} {{respell|GLAZ|goh}} {{Audio|Glasgow.ogg|listen}}; {{lang-sco|Glesga}} {{Audio|Glesca.ogg|listen}}; {{lang-gd|Glaschu}}, pronounced {{IPA-gd|ˈkɫ̪as̪xu|}}) is the largest city in [[Scotland]] and [[List of largest United Kingdom settlements by population|third most populous]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. The city is situated on the [[River Clyde]] in the country's [[Scottish Lowlands|west central lowlands]]. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian.
-Glasgow grew from the [[medieval]] [[Archbishop of Glasgow|Bishopric of Glasgow]] and the later establishment of the [[University of Glasgow]] in the 15th century, which subsequently became a major centre of the [[Scottish Enlightenment]] in the 18th century. From the 18th century the city also grew as one of Britain's main hubs of [[wikt:transatlantic|transatlantic]] [[trade]] with [[British America|British North America]] and the [[British West Indies]]. With the [[Industrial Revolution]], the city and surrounding region shifted to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of Heavy [[Engineering]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/glasgow/glasgow/index.html|title=Glasgow Feature Page|accessdate=11 December 2007|work=Undiscovered Scotland}}</ref> most notably in the [[Shipbuilding]] and [[Marine engineering]] industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow was known as the ''"[[List of second cities|Second City]] of the [[British Empire]]"'' for much of the [[Victorian era]] and [[Edwardian era|Edwardian period]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/victorian/trails_victorian_glasgow.shtml| title=Victorian Glasgow| accessdate=14 September 2010|publisher=BBC History}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/AboutGlasgow/History/The+Second+City.htm| title=About Glasgow: The Second City of the Empire – the 19th century| accessdate=9 July 2007|publisher=Glasgow City Council}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.theglasgowstory.com/storyd.php| title=Second City of The Empire: 1830s to 1914| author=Fraser, W, H| accessdate=7 January 2008|publisher=University of Glasgow}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.scotland.org/about/innovation-and-creativity/features/culture/vibrant6-glasgow.html| title=Glasgow – city of reality| author=McIlvanney, W| accessdate=7 January 2008|publisher=Scotland – the official online gateway}}</ref> Today it is one of Europe's top twenty financial centres and is home to many of Scotland's leading businesses.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/AboutGlasgow/Factsheets/| title=About Glasgow: Factsheets| accessdate=9 July 2007}}</ref> Glasgow is also ranked as the 57th most liveable city in the world.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_quality_of_living</ref>
-In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Glasgow grew to a population of over one million,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E3BE21DA-4D84-4CC4-9C02-2E526FDD9169/0/4population.pdf| title=Factsheet 4: Population| publisher=Glasgow City Council| accessdate=9 July 2007| format=PDF}}</ref> and was the fourth-largest city in Europe, after [[London]], [[Paris]] and [[Berlin]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Visitors/Architecture/Bridges| title=Visiting Glasgow: Clyde Bridges| accessdate=9 July 2007 |publisher= Glasgow City Council}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> In the 1960s, large-scale relocation to [[new town]]s and peripheral [[suburb]]s, followed by successive boundary changes, have reduced the current population of the City of Glasgow unitary authority area to 580,690,<ref name="autogenerated3">{{cite web| url=http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E3BE21DA-4D84-4CC4-9C02-2E526FDD9169/0/populationaug07.pdf| title=2007 Population Estimates| accessdate=16 January 2008|format=PDF}}</ref> with 1,199,629<ref name=GRO>{{cite web |url=http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files/setloc-ks01.xls |title=Key Statistics for Settlements and Localities Scotland |publisher=General Register Office for Scotland|accessdate=8 September 2008}}</ref> people living in the [[Greater Glasgow]] [[urban area]]. The entire region surrounding the [[conurbation]] covers approximately 2.3 million people, 41% of Scotland's population.<ref name=spt>{{cite web| url=http://www.spt.co.uk/Publications/interchange/issue07.html| archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070613072504/http://www.spt.co.uk/Publications/interchange/issue07.html| archivedate=13 June 2007| title=Minister backs SPT on White Paper|month=September | year=2004| publisher=Strathclyde Partnership for Transport| work=Interchange Issue 7| accessdate=9 July 2007}}</ref>
-=====Cardiff=====
-'''Cardiff''' ({{pron-en|ˈkɑːdɪf|Cardiff.ogg}}, {{lang-cy|{{Audio-nohelp|Caerdydd.ogg|''Caerdydd''}}}}) is the [[capital city|capital]], largest city and most populous county of [[Wales]].  The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the [[National Assembly for Wales]]. According to recent estimates, the population of the [[unitary authority area]] is 324,800,<!-- Comment <ref name="2008 population"/>--> while the wider metropolitan area has a population of nearly 1.1 million, more than a third of the total Welsh population.<ref name="espon.eu">http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Projects/ESPON2006Projects/StudiesScientificSupportProjects/UrbanFunctions/fr-1.4.3_April2007-final.pdf#page=119</ref> Cardiff is a significant tourism centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 14.6&nbsp;million visitors in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|location=Cardiff |first= Sally |last=Williams |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/cardiffonline/cardiff-news/2010/07/07/city-s-new-look-pulls-in-foreign-tourists-91466-26799475/| title=City’s new look pulls in foreign tourists  |newspaper= [[South Wales Echo]]|publisher=[[Media Wales|Media Wales Ltd]] |date= 7&nbsp;July&nbsp;2010 |accessdate=26&nbsp;August&nbsp;2010}}</ref>
-The city of Cardiff is the [[county town]] of the [[Historic counties of Wales|historic county]] of [[Glamorgan]] (and later [[South Glamorgan]]). Cardiff is part of the [[Eurocities]] network of the largest European cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurocities.org/|title=Eurocities|accessdate=2008-05-20}}</ref> The [[Cardiff Urban Area]] covers a slightly larger area outside of the county boundary, and includes the towns of [[Dinas Powys]], [[Penarth]] and [[Radyr]]. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a [[port|major port]] for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city.
-Cardiff was made a [[City status in the United Kingdom|city]] in 1905, and proclaimed [[capital of Wales]] in 1955. Since the 1990s Cardiff has seen significant development with a new waterfront area at [[Cardiff Bay]] which contains the [[Senedd]] building, home to the [[National Assembly for Wales|Welsh Assembly]] and the [[Wales Millennium Centre]] arts complex.
-Sporting venues in the city include the [[Millennium Stadium]] (the national stadium for the [[Wales national rugby union team]] and the [[Wales national football team]]), [[SWALEC Stadium]] (the home of [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club]]), [[Cardiff City Stadium]] (the home of [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City football team]] and [[Cardiff Blues|Cardiff Blues rugby union team]]), [[Cardiff International Sports Stadium]] (the home of [[Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club]]) and [[Cardiff Arms Park]] (the home of [[Cardiff RFC|Cardiff Rugby Club]]). The city was awarded with the European City Of Sport in 2009 due to its role in hosting major international sporting events.
-=====Belfast=====
-'''Belfast''' ({{lang-ga|Béal Feirste}}, "mouth of the [[Shoal|sandbars]]") is the [[capital (political)|capital]] of and the largest city in [[Northern Ireland]] and the second largest city in [[Ireland]]. It is the seat of [[Devolution#United Kingdom|devolved]] [[Northern Ireland Executive|government]] and legislative [[Northern Ireland Assembly]].<ref name="MSN Encarta">{{cite encyclopedia | title = Northern Ireland | work = MSN Encarta – Northern Ireland | publisher = Microsoft | url = http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571415/Northern_Ireland.html | accessdate = 2007-10-29 | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?id=1257012982925640 | archivedate = 2009-10-31}}</ref> The city forms part of the largest [[urban area]] in Northern Ireland, and the main settlement in the province of [[Ulster]]. The city of Belfast has a population of 267,500<!-- Comment <ref name="demography1" />--> and lies at the heart of the [[Greater Belfast|Belfast urban area]], which has a population of 483,418. The [[Larger Urban Zone]], as defined by the [[European Union]], has a total population 641,638. Belfast was granted [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] in 1888.
-Historically, Belfast has been a centre for the Irish linen industry (earning the nickname "[[Linenopolis]]"), tobacco production, rope-making and shipbuilding: the city's main shipbuilders, [[Harland and Wolff]], which built the ill-fated [[RMS Titanic]], propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the largest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the [[Industrial Revolution]], establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century.
-Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast, if briefly, the largest city in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century and the city's industrial and economic success was cited by [[Unionism in Ireland|Ulster unionist]] opponents of [[Irish Home Rule|Home Rule]] as a reason why Ireland should shun devolution and later why Ulster in particular would fight to resist it.
-Today, Belfast remains a centre for [[industry]], as well as the [[arts]], [[higher education]] and [[business]], a legal centre, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the period of disruption, conflict, and destruction called [[the Troubles]], but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. [[Belfast city centre]] has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around [[Victoria Square (Belfast)|Victoria Square]].
-Belfast is served by two airports: [[George Best Belfast City Airport]] in the city, and [[Belfast International Airport]] {{convert|15|mi|km|0}} west of the city. Belfast is also a major [[seaport]], with commercial and industrial docks dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline, including the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard. Belfast is a constituent city of the [[Dublin-Belfast corridor]], which has a population of 3 million, or half the total population of the island of Ireland.
-=====Liverpool=====
-Liverpool (pronounced /ˈlɪvɚpuːl/) is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880. Liverpool is the fourth largest city in the United Kingdom (third largest in England) and has a population of 435,500, and lies at the centre of the wider Liverpool Urban Area, which has a population of 816,216.[3]
-Historically a part of Lancashire, the urbanisation and expansion of Liverpool were both largely brought about by the city's status as a major port. By the 18th century, trade from the West Indies, Ireland and mainland Europe coupled with close links with the Atlantic Slave Trade furthered the economic expansion of Liverpool. By the early 19th century, 40% of the world's trade passed through Liverpool's docks, contributing to Liverpool's rise as a major city.
-Inhabitants of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians but are also colloquially known as "Scousers", in reference to the local dish known as "scouse", a form of stew. The word "Scouse" has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect.[4] Liverpool's status as a port city has contributed to its diverse population, which, historically, were drawn from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, particularly those from Ireland. The city is also home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe.
-The popularity of The Beatles and the other groups from the Merseybeat era contributes to Liverpool's status as a tourist destination; tourism forms a significant part of the city's modern economy. The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007, and it held the European Capital of Culture title together with Stavanger, Norway, in 2008.[5]
-Several areas of the city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 2004. Referred to as the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, the site comprises six separate locations in the city including the Pier Head, Albert Dock and William Brown Street and includes many of the city's most famous landmarks.[6]
 ==References==