Coventry vs Clermont-Ferrand

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Coventry ( (listen) KOV-ən-tree or KUV-) is a city, administrative centre and metropolitan borough in England and the United Kingdom. It is built on the River Sherbourne, which remains largely hidden by infrastructure, although it can be seen by the canal. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages; since then it has been one of the most important and largest cities of the country. The conurbation consists of the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area, being the 20th largest in the country; the city is governed by Coventry City Council. Historically part of Warwickshire, Coventry had a population of 316,915 at the 2011 census, making it the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest city in the West Midlands region, after Birmingham, and is separated from the West Midlands conurbation ((Greater) Birmingham & The Black Country) by the Meriden Gap. Coventry is 19 miles (31 km) east-southeast of Birmingham, 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Leicester, 11 miles (18 km) north of Warwick and 94 miles (151 km) northwest of London. Coventry is also the most central city in England, being only 12 miles (18 km) south-southwest of the country's geographical centre in Leicestershire; it is located in the West Midlands.

The current Coventry Cathedral was built after most of the 14th century cathedral church of Saint Michael was destroyed by the Luftwaffe in the Coventry Blitz of 14 November 1940. Coventry motor companies have contributed significantly to the British motor industry. The city has three universities, Coventry University in the city centre, the University of Warwick on the southern outskirts and the smaller private Arden University, with its headquarters close to Coventry Airport. On 7 December 2017, the city won the title of UK City of Culture 2021, after beating Paisley, Stoke-on-Trent, Swansea and Sunderland to the title. It will be the third title holder of the quadrennial award which began in 2013. In July 2020 it was announced that the City of Culture festivities would not commence until May 2021 and conclude in May 2022 due to preparational and infrastructural delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this Coventry City of Culture Trust released a manifesto film, celebrating the city of Coventry and announcing the brand for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, 'Coventry Moves'.

Source: Wikipedia

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Clermont-Ferrand (UK: , US: ; French: [klɛʁmɔ̃ fɛʁɑ̃] (listen); Auvergnat: Clharmou; Latin: Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 143,886 (2017). Its metropolitan area (aire urbaine) had 485,315 inhabitants at the 2017 census. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Puy-de-Dôme department. Olivier Bianchi is its current mayor. Clermont-Ferrand sits on the plain of Limagne in the Massif Central and is surrounded by a major industrial area. The city known for the chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys surrounding it, including the dormant volcano Puy de Dôme (10 kilometres (6 miles), one of the highest, topped by communications towers, and visible from the city, which is inscribed since July 2018 as a "tectonic hotspot" on the UNESCO World Heritage List. One of the oldest French cities, it has been known by Greeks as the capital of the Arvernie Tribe before developping under the Gallo-Roman era under the name of Augustonemetum in the 1st century BC. The forum of the Roman city was located on the top of the Clermont mound, on the site of the present cathedral. The High Middle Ages were marked by the looting it was subjected to by the peoples who invaded Gaul and would not have been spared by the Vikings during the weakening of the Carolingian Empire.

Growing in importance under the Capetian dynasty, it hosted in 1095 the Council of Clermont that included the call to arms that would result in the First Crusade, and eventually the capture of Jerusalem. In 1551, Clermont became a royal town, and further made in 1610, inseparable property of the Crown. Today Clermont-Ferrand hosts the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (Festival du Court-Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand), one of the world's leading international festivals for short films. It is also home to the corporate headquarters of Michelin, the global tyre company founded there more than 100 years ago. With a quarter of the municipal population being students, and 6,000 researchers, Clermont-Ferrand is the first city in France to join the UNESCO Learning City Network. Along with its highly distinctive black lava stone Gothic Cathedral, Clermont-Ferrand's most famous site includes the public square Place de Jaude, on which stands a grand statue of Vercingetorix astride a warhorse and brandishing a sword. The inscription reads: J'ai pris les armes pour la liberté de tous (I took up arms for the liberty of all). This statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who also created the Statue of Liberty.

Source: Wikipedia