What is the difference between a town and a city? For most people in the UK, the answer is that a city has a cathedral while a town doesn't. That is an error though, since cities such as Southampton and Leeds do not have cathedrals. On the other hand, Blackburn and Guildford, both towns, do have cathedrals. City status has been conferred upon places that had hitherto been towns just twenty-three times over the past century. All of these were the result of a competitive event held in honour of the then monarch. The status of a city brings with it prestige and many economic rewards, but what are the criteria that a town would have to meet to apply for the status of a city? There seem to be no particular guidelines in this matter, although it's most definitely not about the size of the population, since St. Asaph, which has only a few thousand inhabitants, won its right to be called a city in 2012. The ambiguity has resulted in Milton Keynes calling itself a city, despite being a town. With its large centre, multi-cultural population, thriving business community and popular football club, many would find it difficult to disagree.