How famous is Sheffield?

[JamesR123 0]

Sheffield isn't well know on the world stage at all.  People may have heard of Sheffield Wednesday, but only because the team has a stupid name, not for any other reason.

 

100 years ago this would have been different, as Sheffield Steel was exported across the world.

 

I would be surprised if Sheffield made it into the top 100 European cities (by virtue of continent wide acknowledgement).

[RollingJ 2,002]

Merely as a point of interest - why do so many on here put Sheffield down?

[FIRETHORN1 58]

Way back in the past, I think Sheffield was best known for it's top class cutlery, knives and steel, but I believe the demise of these industries and the fact that we've got 2 unsuccessful football teams makes us less well known in the rest of the world.

In terms of "fame"  don't think we can be fairly compared to world capital cities like Paris and Rome, or even our own capital, London,  but we are either the 4th or 5th biggest city in England, so it would be nice to be as famous as other big English Cities of a similar size - like Leeds and Liverpool

[Jonmatt 11]

1 hour ago, RollingJ said:

Merely as a point of interest - why do so many on here put Sheffield down?

I think it is disappointment more than anything.

The city has lost its way in my view across a range of areas. In many ways, its nearly but not quite there

Music.. tremendous legacy but no iconography or point to focus on.

Shopping - way behind other cities with opportunities missed -Sevenstone

Sport- finally got a team in the highest division but what a long wait it has been

Industry - fractured and with no clear direction. Again missed out or having been left behind.

 

It is easy to criticise the Council who will blame, with good reason, financial disparities but there doesn't appear to have been any long term strategy for development for a long time.

 

 

[abbeyedges 82]

As an identity the 'best' bit of publicity Sheffield had in recent times was over the tree protests.

 

Newspapers, TV and radio often described us as 'the greenest city in Europe'.

 

Under the circumstances I suppose the council were keen to play down the story

[Longcol 598]

Many people have heard of Sheffield in this part of France - mainly because of steel / tools - in fact the garden centre in our local village probably carries a bigger range of Spear & Jackson tools than B&Q in Sheffield.

 

It still has a reputation for quality - people over here generally want to buy something that will last.

[ECCOnoob 1,021]

An interesting point is how are we measuring fame and notoriety.

 

Simply comparing Sheffield with other large European cities is the completely wrong approach.  Its obvious that we are not a capital city nor are we even the second city of the UK.  Trying to compare with those is completly incorrect.

 

Nor do I agree that fame is determined by simply what makes the newspapers and television.  99% of the time it will be bad news as that's what gets ratings and attracts a story.

 

I am more interested in the fame and awareness of Sheffield through arts, trade organisations and comparison in the commercial world.  

 

Sheffield universities are certainly attractive and there must be some fame as they are widely populated by international students.

 

Sheffield has had significant amounts of foreign investment linked to such students as can be seen in the new developments.

 

The investment from McLaren and Boeing in the AMR parks has been widely publicised certainly in the trade press as has the recent redevelopment of kelham Island and the digital quarter.

 

The Guardian has undertaken features on Sheffield and there is significant amounts of film and television production still done here with several filmmakers and producers based in the cultural industries area.   

 

The Arctic monkeys put Sheffield on the map recently and our legacy music scene is still brought up several times over in features and articles.

 

Our theatre complex is still the largest outside London and makes many productions in house which is a rarity in the regions.

 

We may not have the yuppie "prestige" of Leeds and Manchester but we are still matching them for investment from big companies and central government who have large offices based here.

 

Going back to what I said earlier, whilst  we may not hit the headlines as much as other cities that does not mean that we are not known.  Certainly from my travelling around to other locations and even abroad people are aware of Sheffield and what it can offer.

 

The recent flypast had not only gave national news coverage reporting and presenting from here but international too.  It was quite strange seeing CNN and NBC live from a Sheffield park.  Tramlines always attracts some good publicity as does the annual snooker which clearly dominates the BBC schedules each year.

 

Let's be completely honest, with the exception of London, does any major city get a disproportionate amount of positive reporting on the news or is it always just when somebody is killed or there is a disaster?

Edited June 24, 2019 by ECCOnoob

[abbeyedges 82]

4 hours ago, ECCOnoob said:

An interesting point is how are we measuring fame and notoriety.

 

Simply comparing Sheffield with other large European cities is the completely wrong approach.  Its obvious that we are not a capital city nor are we even the second city of the UK.  Trying to compare with those is completly incorrect.

 

Nor do I agree that fame is determined by simply what makes the newspapers and television.  99% of the time it will be bad news as that's what gets ratings and attracts a story.

 

I am more interested in the fame and awareness of Sheffield through arts, trade organisations and comparison in the commercial world.  

 

Sheffield universities are certainly attractive and there must be some fame as they are widely populated by international students.

 

Sheffield has had significant amounts of foreign investment linked to such students as can be seen in the new developments.

 

The investment from McLaren and Boeing in the AMR parks has been widely publicised certainly in the trade press as has the recent redevelopment of kelham Island and the digital quarter.

 

The Guardian has undertaken features on Sheffield and there is significant amounts of film and television production still done here with several filmmakers and producers based in the cultural industries area.   

 

The Arctic monkeys put Sheffield on the map recently and our legacy music scene is still brought up several times over in features and articles.

 

Our theatre complex is still the largest outside London and makes many productions in house which is a rarity in the regions.

 

We may not have the yuppie "prestige" of Leeds and Manchester but we are still matching them for investment from big companies and central government who have large offices based here.

 

Going back to what I said earlier, whilst  we may not hit the headlines as much as other cities that does not mean that we are not known.  Certainly from my travelling around to other locations and even abroad people are aware of Sheffield and what it can offer.

 

The recent flypast had not only gave national news coverage reporting and presenting from here but international too.  It was quite strange seeing CNN and NBC live from a Sheffield park.  Tramlines always attracts some good publicity as does the annual snooker which clearly dominates the BBC schedules each year.

 

Let's be completely honest, with the exception of London, does any major city get a disproportionate amount of positive reporting on the news or is it always just when somebody is killed or there is a disaster?

Manchester gets far too much (undeserved) coverage.

 

It's the darling of the media

[Longcol 598]

54 minutes ago, abbeyedges said:

Manchester gets far too much (undeserved) coverage.

 

It's the darling of the media

That's because it's the northern outpost for the majority of the media.

 

It's also the largest conurbation outside London (4 times the size of Sheffield / Rotherham).

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_urban_areas_in_the_United_Kingdom

[DerbyTup 10]

22 hours ago, philyyy said:

Not sure where they went exactly but Yorkshire was the only region to have an increase in tourist numbers in the first half of 2018 (Latest available figures) so we might be heading in the right direction.

I think they were on their way to Derbyshire.

[Baron99 779]

12 hours ago, ECCOnoob said:

An interesting point is how are we measuring fame and notoriety.

 

Simply comparing Sheffield with other large European cities is the completely wrong approach.  Its obvious that we are not a capital city nor are we even the second city of the UK.  Trying to compare with those is completly incorrect.

 

Nor do I agree that fame is determined by simply what makes the newspapers and television.  99% of the time it will be bad news as that's what gets ratings and attracts a story.

 

I am more interested in the fame and awareness of Sheffield through arts, trade organisations and comparison in the commercial world.  

 

Sheffield universities are certainly attractive and there must be some fame as they are widely populated by international students.

 

Sheffield has had significant amounts of foreign investment linked to such students as can be seen in the new developments.

 

The investment from McLaren and Boeing in the AMR parks has been widely publicised certainly in the trade press as has the recent redevelopment of kelham Island and the digital quarter.

 

The Guardian has undertaken features on Sheffield and there is significant amounts of film and television production still done here with several filmmakers and producers based in the cultural industries area.   

 

The Arctic monkeys put Sheffield on the map recently and our legacy music scene is still brought up several times over in features and articles.

 

Our theatre complex is still the largest outside London and makes many productions in house which is a rarity in the regions.

 

We may not have the yuppie "prestige" of Leeds and Manchester but we are still matching them for investment from big companies and central government who have large offices based here.

 

Going back to what I said earlier, whilst  we may not hit the headlines as much as other cities that does not mean that we are not known.  Certainly from my travelling around to other locations and even abroad people are aware of Sheffield and what it can offer.

 

The recent flypast had not only gave national news coverage reporting and presenting from here but international too.  It was quite strange seeing CNN and NBC live from a Sheffield park.  Tramlines always attracts some good publicity as does the annual snooker which clearly dominates the BBC schedules each year.

 

Let's be completely honest, with the exception of London, does any major city get a disproportionate amount of positive reporting on the news or is it always just when somebody is killed or there is a disaster?

Couldn't agree more. Aren't we also recognised as being the ale capital of the country with more breweries & the number of different beers available here than anywhere else? 

 

Wasn't it only last year that the New York Times ran an article that the Kelham Island area is one of the must see places? 

Edited June 25, 2019 by Baron99
Amendments

[DerbyTup 10]

12 hours ago, ECCOnoob said:

An interesting point is how are we measuring fame and notoriety.

 

Simply comparing Sheffield with other large European cities is the completely wrong approach.  Its obvious that we are not a capital city nor are we even the second city of the UK.  Trying to compare with those is completly incorrect.

 

Nor do I agree that fame is determined by simply what makes the newspapers and television.  99% of the time it will be bad news as that's what gets ratings and attracts a story.

 

I am more interested in the fame and awareness of Sheffield through arts, trade organisations and comparison in the commercial world.  

 

Sheffield universities are certainly attractive and there must be some fame as they are widely populated by international students.

 

Sheffield has had significant amounts of foreign investment linked to such students as can be seen in the new developments.

 

The investment from McLaren and Boeing in the AMR parks has been widely publicised certainly in the trade press as has the recent redevelopment of kelham Island and the digital quarter.

 

The Guardian has undertaken features on Sheffield and there is significant amounts of film and television production still done here with several filmmakers and producers based in the cultural industries area.   

 

The Arctic monkeys put Sheffield on the map recently and our legacy music scene is still brought up several times over in features and articles.

 

Our theatre complex is still the largest outside London and makes many productions in house which is a rarity in the regions.

 

We may not have the yuppie "prestige" of Leeds and Manchester but we are still matching them for investment from big companies and central government who have large offices based here.

 

Going back to what I said earlier, whilst  we may not hit the headlines as much as other cities that does not mean that we are not known.  Certainly from my travelling around to other locations and even abroad people are aware of Sheffield and what it can offer.

 

The recent flypast had not only gave national news coverage reporting and presenting from here but international too.  It was quite strange seeing CNN and NBC live from a Sheffield park.  Tramlines always attracts some good publicity as does the annual snooker which clearly dominates the BBC schedules each year.

 

Let's be completely honest, with the exception of London, does any major city get a disproportionate amount of positive reporting on the news or is it always just when somebody is killed or there is a disaster?

You've listed a number of very positive things there about our city and that's really nice to see.  However, you are kidding yourself if you think that we are matching the likes of Leeds and Manchester for commercial investment.   We are miles behind and whilst you may want to dismiss Leeds and Manchester as "yuppie" - that's completely missing the point - and reeks of envy too.  Why did Channel 4 just chose Leeds over Sheffield for the new location?  Is it because they are all "yuppies" as well?

 

There's a lot of really positive things about this city - not least Sheffield University and the revenue that brings into the city - but the gaping hole is we haven't been able to attract commercial development on a scale like many other similar and even smaller cities.   The city centre is dire - let's be honest about that.  Thankfully we are getting a new shopping centre at last - which is long overdue and very much needed - but even so, will we be able to attract top brands here?  Will local folk want to pay for nice things?  Or will it just be full of the same kind of chain stores as we've got at Meadowhall?  And how about eating out?  Or even getting here in the first place?

 

You know, there's one or two ways you can look at this.  You can celebrate the positives about the city - and there are some as you've quite rightly said.  And you can continue to deny the negatives.  The only problem with that, is it is self-limiting.   We can never improve while ever we keep closing our eyes to the truth.  Far better I think to celebrate those things that we do do well, but to ask serious questions about other areas where we aren't doing well and try and raise standards across the board.

 

We aren't a Manchester or a Leeds, and we probably shouldn't try to be, but we could try to be a better Sheffield.