Bristol is a city, unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, 105 miles (169 km) west of London, and 44 miles (71 km) east of Cardiff. With an approximate population of 410,900, and urban area of 550,200, it is England's sixth, and the United Kingdom's ninth most populous city, one of England's core cities and the most populous city in South West England. It received a royal charter in 1155 and was granted county status in 1373. For half a millennium it was the second or third largest English city, until the rapid rise of Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester in the Industrial Revolution in the later part of the 18th century. It borders on the unitary districts of Bath and North East Somerset (BANES), North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, between the cities of Bath, Gloucester and Newport, and has a short coastline on the estuary of the River Severn, which flows into the Bristol Channel. Bristol is one of the centers of culture, employment and education in the region. From its earliest days, its prosperity has been linked to that of the Port of Bristol, the commercial port, which was in the city centre but has now moved to the Severn estuary coast at Avonmouth and Portbury. In more recent years the economy has been built on the aerospace industry, and the city centre docks have been regenerated as a centre of heritage and culture.

The city has two League football clubs: Bristol City and Bristol Rovers, as well as a number of non-league clubs, most notably Bristol Manor Farm. Bristol City are technically the most successful football team in the city, but by a small margin; their honours including finishing Football League First Division runners-up in 1907 and FA Cup finalists in 1909. In the last 25 years they have won promotion from the league's fourth tier once, the third tier on three occasions, and in 2007 won promotion to the second tier of English football, but they have not played in the top division since 1980. Bristol Rovers however, also have major honours, they were Champions of the (old) division Three in the 1952/53 & 1989/90 seasons, Watney Cup Winners in 1972, and more recently in the 2006/07 season; Runners-Up in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy (After beating Bristol City in the Semi-Final) & won promotion to League One through the Football League Two play-offs at Wembley Stadium with an estimated crowd attendance of 40,000 (out of 61,589). The Club also has plans to re-develope the Memorial Stadium into an 18,500 All-seater Stadium to be completed by December 2009. The city is also home to Bristol Rugby rugby union club, a first-class cricket side, Gloucestershire C.C.C. and a Rugby League Conference side, the Bristol Sonics. The city also stages an annual half marathon, and in 2001 played host to the World Half Marathon Championships. In summer the grounds of Ashton Court to the west of the city play host to the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, a major event for hot-air ballooning in the UK. The Fiesta draws a substantial crowd even for the early morning lift that typically begins at about 6.30am. Events and a fairground entertain the crowds during the day. A second mass ascent is then made in the early evening, again taking advantage of lower wind speeds. Ashton Court also plays host to the Ashton Court festival each summer, an outdoors music festival which used to be known as the Bristol Community Festival. Speedway racing was staged, with breaks, at the Knowle Stadium from 1928 to 1960 when it was closed and the site redeveloped. The sport briefly returned to the City in the 1970s when the Bulldogs raced at Eastville Stadium. The Bulldogs of 1949 whitewashed Glasgow (White City) Tigers 70 - 14. More on Bristol 

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