Wrexham officially becomes Wales' seventh city

Wrexham gained city status earlier this year as part of a competition marking the Queen's Platinum Jubilee

Wrexham officially becomes a city on Thursday after being awarded the status as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The honour was granted earlier this year, and the official "Letter Patent" confirms city status from 1 September 2022.

In all, eight towns were given the new title - at least one in each UK nation.

It is now Wales' seventh city and the third in the north of the country.

Wrexham joins Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bangor, St Davids and St Asaph in achieving city status.

A competition to receive civic honours was last run 10 years ago to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, when St Asaph was honoured with city status.

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Gaining the city status has been a long-standing ambition for Wrexham, as the bid was the fourth following three failed attempts in 2000, 2002 and 2012.

Wrexham county has a population of 135,000, with about 61,600 in the town.

Dating back to the early 1300s, St Giles' Church is right in the centre of Wrexham

What has Wrexham got?

• Glyndwr University, home to 6,000 students

• The Unesco World Heritage site Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, nearly 220 years old and co-designed by Thomas Telford to carry the Llangollen canal over the River Dee

• Wrexham Lager, a brand with Victorian origins which has been revived in recent years

• Wrexham Football Club, established in 1864 and among the oldest professional football clubs in the world, which is now owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The Welsh secretary Sir Robert Buckland said: "Congratulations to Wrexham on achieving city status.

"The city and surrounding area already has so much to offer - it's home to the famous Wrexham Lager Brewery, the Unesco World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and a fantastic football club which is Wales's oldest and one of the oldest in the world.

"There is already much for Wrexham to be proud of and its future is equally exciting, I hope that the city of Wrexham continues to prosper and grow."

Owner of Wrexham Football Club Rob McElhenney, said the bid "sounded like something you'd obviously want to support"

Where are Wales' cities?

• Bangor in Gwynedd is Wales' oldest city - unique outside England in using the title by ancient prescriptive right

• St Davids, Pembrokeshire, with a population of just 1,600 was made a city in the 16th Century because of its cathedral - however, this status was revoked in 1888. At the request of the Queen, it was granted again in 1994

• Cardiff has promoted itself as the youngest capital city in Europe - given the title in 1905, it became Wales' capital in 1955

• In 1969, Swansea was granted city status to mark Prince Charles's investiture as the Prince of Wales

• Newport became a city in 2002 to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee

• With a population of 3,500, St Asaph was awarded city status in 2012 in recognition of its cathedral

Pontcysyllte aqueduct is the highest canal aqueduct in the world

Leader of Wrexham Council Mark Pritchard, said: "We have so much to celebrate in Wrexham, we have an amazing World Heritage Site, and incredible football club with incredible owners, and a rich and diverse arts and culture scene, we have strong links with our armed forces, world-class businesses and friends all over the world.

"But our greatest asset is our communities, and it's the amazing passion, character and creativity of the people who live here that make Wrexham what it is.

He added that city status was a wonderful achievement and reflected the growing confidence and ambition in Wrexham, and said it was a truly historic day.

Wrexham Council has planned a month of weekend events throughout September to celebrate the new city, starting on 3 September, and ending on 24 September.