And over the years personalities who were born locally – and some who weren’t – have tried to pinpoint the qualities that make Sheffield so distinctive.
Here are 10 of the funniest and most incisive quotes about the city from the archives.
1. Jarvis Cocker
"I went on a very good adventure down the River Don once," the Sheffield-born Pulp frontman told the NME in 1993. "I had an inflatable boat and I went from here to Rotherham which is about eight miles away. It was like Apocalypse Now... It was probably the best thing I ever did. It's good to find an adventure in mundane surroundings. Sheffield is built on seven hills, just like Rome but I think that's where the similarities end." Photo: Paul Chappells
2. Laura Wade
"I'm not posh at all," playwright Laura Wade, who grew up in Ecclesall, told the BBC in 2012. "I grew up in Sheffield but never managed to pick up the accent - which was careless because there'd be some cache now in being a northern playwright, but I missed out on that one." Photo: JPIMedia
3. Richard Hawley
"I think Sheffield's a really romantic place," city musician Richard Hawley told the BBC in 2005. "It's the people that count - Sheffield people have a great sense of humour, and doing all the travelling that I do, I really like the fact that I'm from Sheffield and can come back and be humbled very quickly by a little old bloke or something." Photo: Chris Etchells
4. Michael Palin
"My first memories of Sheffield were of contrast," comedian, actor, writer and broadcaster Michael Palin, who was brought up in Ranmoor, told National Geographic in 2019. "A big, huge, sort of smoky industrial area where all the steel forges were. Dust, noise. And the west, which borders on the Peak District, and is very beautiful and very leafy. Though less so since they started cutting down the trees." Photo: Sheffield City Council