'We'll prove Richard Gere wrong': High hopes as Stalybridge crowned Greater Manchester's Town of Culture

Top bosses in Stalybridge have vowed to "prove Richard Gere wrong" after the area was given the Town of Culture status for 2022.

The Tameside town will hold the title for the next 12 months after it was chosen by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which is providing a £50,000 grant to develop a programme of cultural events and activities celebrating Stalybridge's unique heritage.

And in a ceremony to formally announce the town's title at a busy Stalybridge Street Food Fest on Friday night, Coun Leanne Feeley, the executive member for Culture at Tameside Borough Council, spoke about some of the things that make the town an incredibly historic place.

READ MORE: Best things to explore in Stalybridge as it's named Greater Manchester's Town of Culture 2022

From the oldest brass band, to its beautiful location and links to suffragette history, Stalybridge has it all, but there's at least one person who doesn't agree. The town's use as a filming location for the film Yanks, about the relationships between American soldiers and the locals whilst the troops were stationed in England during the Second World War, was brought up.

Richard Gere, one of the stars of the film, was reportedly "less than impressed" with the town at the time, with a widely shared belief that he called it one of the worst he'd ever visited.

Despite the fact this was quashed in 2016, when Gere said it was actually one of "the most beautiful villages I have ever been in" - it seems like Stalybridge still has a bone to pick with Gere, and desperately wants to prove him wrong once and for all.

After Coun Feeley's heartfelt speech about all the reasons Stalybridge was great, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham took to the floor to congratulate the