MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Welcome to the City of Stanley, capital of the Falkland Islands”

The sign leading to the City of Stanley, recently installed by the Public Works Department

“Welcome to the city of Stanley, capital of the Falkland Islands!” reads the new updated sign to recognize Port Stanley's status as a city, and twinning with Portsmouth and Whitby.

Last May Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands was among eight places to win coveted city status as part of celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. Stanley was the first Overseas Territory to win the competition for city status.

The award was extended during the commemorations of the 40th anniversary end of the war and Liberation of the Falklands, following the April 1982 invasion and occupation by Argentine forces. For locals it was an occasion to come together to remember the sacrifices made during the conflict, and the extraordinary development of the South Atlantic Islands since then.

The City of Stanley boasts a calendar of celebrations and special events such as Peat Cutting Monday and the annual Stanley Sports Race Meeting, which includes horse racing and gymkhana events.

Welcome to the city of Stanley in #FalklandIslands! The new sign has been updated to recognise our status as a city and our twinning with #Portsmouth and #Whitby #Islandlife #welcometoourislands @portsmouthtoday @Whitby_TC pic.twitter.com/mB9LgkOq48

— Falkland Islands Gov (@FalklandsGov) November 2, 2022

MLA Pete Biggs, Chair of the Legislative Assembly, said: “We are utterly thrilled to have been chosen for this very rare award, which is granted by Queen Elizabeth II herself. The Falkland Islands is one of the most remote British Overseas Territories, but our distance only serves to strengthen the feelings of gratitude, love and respect, that we have for Her Majesty The Queen, as a vitally important and iconic figurehead for the UK and the Commonwealth.

“This celebration of her extraordinary reign comes at a time when we in the Falkland Islands are equally reflecting on an extraordinary time in our own history, as we remember the events of 74 days in 1982 when we were invaded. For our small community it was an unprecedented time, but I am delighted that, 40 years on from those dark days, we are being recognized in this way – I think it goes to show just how far we have come in that time. In the past four decades we have built a thriving, prosperous nation, which continually looks to the future while respecting our past”

The City of Stanley currently has a population of 2.964, based on data from the latest census 2021/22