| Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of
Greater Manchester, England and was granted city status in 1853.
In 2007, the population of the Manchester local government district
was estimated to be 458,100, while the surrounding metropolitan
county of Greater Manchester had an estimated population of 2,562,200.
Manchester is the 15th largest urban area in the European Union.
Nicknamed the 'Capital of the North', Manchester today is a centre
of the arts, the media, higher education and commerce. In a poll
of British business leaders published in 2006, Manchester was
regarded as the best place in the UK to locate a business. It
is the third-most visited city in the United Kingdom by foreign
visitors and was the host of the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Manchester was the world's first industrialised city and played
a central role during the Industrial Revolution. It was the dominant
international centre of textile manufacture and cotton spinning.
Manchester city centre is now on a tentative list of UNESCO World
Heritage Sites, mainly due to the network of canals and mills
constructed during its 19th-century development
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