It's Southend's last day as a town
City status will be bestowed tomorrow
Today marks the last day of Southend being a town, before it gets city status officially tomorrow.
The upgrade was granted following the murder of local MP Sir David Amess, who had campaigned for the honour for many years.
Tomorrow the new status will be confirmed in a council ceremony in which Prince Charles will present a letters patent to the mayor of Southend, Margaret Borton, who's said: “Formally receiving city status from His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales will be a special moment for Southend-on-Sea.
"We are hugely honoured to receive a Royal visit from Their Royal Highnesses on what is sure to be a momentous day for our new City.”
Following the ceremony, Southend will become the 52nd city in England, and the second in Essex, alongside Chelmsford.
Leader of the Council, Ian Gilbert said he's excited to welcome the Royals: "It'll be great to see them here, and I think it will mean an awful lot to people that they are here to share this day with us and to bestow this really important honour on Southend."
He says the visit has taken a lot of preparation: "There's been a huge amount of organisation going into the day...
"The Council officers have been doing a massive amount of work to make sure everything goes exactly to plan.
"Everything's got to run exactly to time, and they're trying to fit in a number of different things whilst they're in Southend to make the most of the visit."
Although Southend Council will now formally become Southend-on-Sea City Council, he says not too much will change: "The Council will still be the Council, but I think there will be a change of mindset perhaps, with the honour and the status of being a City Council.
"I hope it reflects the growth of Southend and of the Council itself."
So what does city status actually mean for Southend?
You'd be forgiven for thinking Southend's new city status comes with a big injection of funding, or a guaranteed influx of tourists, but the reality is there's none of that.
Along with some shiny new road signs and mostly symbolic name changes, the key thing Southend gets is bragging rights.
Whilst Southend won't get any immediate benefits, they can use the status to their advantage to benefit in the future.
For example, the council may use it to attract more financial investments, perhaps to reinvigorate certain areas, such as the High Street.
It will also make Southend a more recognisable name, which may then encourage more tourists to visit the area, also benefitting the local economy.
More than anything though, in Southend's case, city status serves as a tribute to Sir David Amess, who consistently pushed the campaign, telling the BBC shortly before his death: “If the House of Commons wants to shut me up from being the city bore, then they are going to have to grant it to us.
“I’ve spent all my time mentioning it at every conceivable opportunity. It is a no-brainer."