27 July 2001
Four new cities – one each in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – will be created as part of the celebrations next year.
It will be a second chance for towns which missed out during the millennium celebrations, when Inverness, Wolverhampton and Brighton & Hove became cities.
According to the Lord Chancellor's Department, which is overseeing the competition and drawing up the short list, the Queen has agreed that history, royal connections and a 'forward-looking attitude' will be the keys to successful bids.
A successful town will also need 'a character and dignity of its own' and hold a 'quasi-metropolitan position in its region or sub-region'.
Hopeful towns have until October 12 to submit their applications and the government will announce the results early next year.
Among the front-runners is likely to be Luton, which narrowly missed out in 2000.
PFjul2001
