Southampton ships to sound horns to mark city's 60th anniversary
- Published
A minute of applause will be held at Southampton's game against Millwall
Celebrations are set to take place to mark 60 years since Southampton was made a city.
It is home to a global cruise ship industry and was first granted city status by a royal charter on 24 February 1964.
Events are being held across Southampton throughout Saturday.
Vessels in the port have been asked to sound their whistles at midday and containers have been arranged to spell "Southampton 60" to mark the occasion.
A number of celebrations are taking place across the city
The idea of city status first came up in the 1930s to honour King George V's Silver Jubilee but World War Two, and subsequent austerity, delayed the application until 1958, according to Southampton City Council.
Mayor of Southampton 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."
A minute of applause will be held at Southampton Football Club during the 60th minute of the team's game against Millwall.
In the port, operating company DP World has arranged shipping containers to spell out "Southampton 60", while Associated British Ports (ABP) is encouraging ships to sound their horns simultaneously at 12:00 GMT.
The University of Southampton will be sharing a blog, reflecting on the institution's connection with the city over the past 60 years.
The mayor of Southampton and other dignitaries celebrate Southampton's city status in 1964
People are being encouraged to bring in photographs from the last 60 years to Portswood, Woolston and Bitterne libraries, for a historical display at Central Library.
Plus, the council's archive team has pulled together a webpage of previously unseen documents and photographs, including the Royal charters.
Lorna Fielker, leader of Southampton City Council, said she wanted the city to keep growing.
"We've achieved so much together over the decades and I'm excited to see what the future holds," she added.
Follow BBC South on Facebook, external, X, external, or Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240.