Portsmouth100: a year of city pride and naval history

Portsmouth is marking 100 years since it officially became a city on 21 April 1926, and the Portsmouth100 programme has spread that anniversary across the city. Organised by Portsmouth City Council with local groups and partner organisations, it has brought together civic ceremonies, exhibitions, performances, community projects and outdoor installations. The programme is rooted in Portsmouth’s identity as a naval city, but it also gives space to local artists, residents and community stories.

The most visible part of the celebrations has been the Pride of Portsmouth Lion Trail. Forty-five lion sculptures, each designed by a local artist and linked to the city, were placed around Portsmouth from 13 July to 13 September. People could follow the route with the Pride of Portsmouth app, collecting the sculptures as they went, while a roaming unicorn appeared at different locations. The trail attracted 11,799 app users, who recorded more than 263,000 collections and travelled a combined 3,040 miles. One Hundred Voices: A Portsmouth Patchwork was the most collected lion, while Cushty received the most votes.

Today, Sunday 4 October, the lions are being brought together for the first time at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard as part of the free Our Naval City Festival. The event is organised by The Mary Rose Museum and Portsmouth Historic Quarter, with talks from the University of Portsmouth, family activities, market stalls, charity stands and live music. The unicorn is joining them too. Visitors can still collect the sculptures through the app during the reunion, although the trail’s rewards scheme ended when the city route closed on 13 September. The project is expected to continue after the event, with many lions moving to permanent homes in Portsmouth and elsewhere. Plans are also being developed for an auction of selected sculptures, with proceeds proposed for a project supporting opportunities for young people in the city.

The Dockyard gives the reunion a fitting setting, with HMS Victory, the Mary Rose Museum, HMS Warrior, HMS M.33, the Royal Navy Museum and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum all forming part of Portsmouth’s wider naval story. General entry to the site is free, while charges apply for attractions including HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose Museum. The Dockyard is open from 10:00 to 17:30 in October, with last entry at 16:30. It is less than five miles from Junction 12 of the M27, and Portsmouth Harbour station is around 200 yards from the entrance. The Our Naval City Festival is also part of Your Stories, Your City, a wider programme taking place today at the Dockyard and Priddy’s Hard in Gosport, with a community exhibition due to open at Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery from 26 October.

There has been plenty more to the centenary than the lion trail. Earlier in the year, Portsmouth Guildhall hosted the civic ceremony, while Guildhall Squared brought performances, talks, workshops and exhibitions to Guildhall Square in May. BBC Radio 3’s Friday Night is Music Night followed in June with the BBC Concert Orchestra, and July brought the Centenary Concert Series. Other projects include 100Habitats, 100 in Bloom, the Southsea Food Festival and 100 not out, a tea party for Portsmouth residents turning 100 during 2026. The celebrations are due to finish with a final event in January, giving Portsmouth100 a closing point after a year that has connected the city’s naval past with its present-day cultural life.