The UK's Most Loved-Up Cities ❤️
We’ve all had a rough last twelve months or so, but if any good was to come out of 2020, it’s reminding us of the things and people that are truly special to us.
But where can claim to be the UK’s most ‘loved up’ places this year?
We’ve analysed some of the country’s biggest towns and cities on a range of factors such as the number of people getting married, having babies, and the number of people looking to treat their other half to a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
Bristol: the most loved-up city in the UK
Taking all of the factors into account, the UK’s most loved-up city of all was Bristol, in the South West. Bristolians were the most likely to be ordering flowers online to help make somebody feel special, as well as most likely to be searching for date night inspo online! And even in these strange times, they’re in luck, whether it’s a romantic walk to take in the gorgeous views of the city from the Clifton Suspension Bridge or a sunset stroll around the harbour.
The city with the most wedding bells
Portsmouth - 534 per 100,000 people
If there’s one ultimate symbol of commitment and love, it’s tying the knot, and of the cities which we looked at, it was those in Portsmouth who were most likely to say “I do”. 1,139 residents of Pompey got hitched (or formed a civil partnership) in the most recent year for which data was available, which works out as 534 per 100,000 people in the city on the South Coast.
The town making the most babies
Luton - 1,528 per 100,000 people
It seems that the residents of Luton have certainly been busy, with the highest birth rate of any of the towns and cities that we looked at, with 1,528 born for every 100,000 people. Hopefully, you don’t need us to explain how a high birth rate might relate to a lot of loved-up couples in the town!
The city looking for date night inspiration
Bristol - 214 ‘date night’ searches per 100,000 people
It’s important to make time for just the two of you, but 2020 has made it more challenging than ever before to get out and enjoy a date night with your partner. Whether it’s looking for ideas that fall within current restrictions or maybe looking for ways to create a date night atmosphere at home, it was those in Bristol who turned to the web for date night inspiration the most, with 214 searches per 100,000 people.
The city popping the question
Liverpool - 9,859 ‘engagement ring’ searches per 100,000 people
Finally taking the next step and getting engaged is a huge step for any couple, but the figures show that it was those in Liverpool who were most commonly looking to get down on one knee in 2020, with 9,859 online searches for engagement rings per 100,000 people, that more than ten times as many as the bottom-placed city on our list (Swansea)!
The city buying the most bouquets
Bristol - 11,524 ‘flower delivery’ per 100,000 people
It’ll come as no surprise that we’re old fashion romantics who believe that there’s no better way to let your other half know that you care than through a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and it was Bristolians who took the top spot for this factor again, with 11,524 searches for ‘flower delivery’ for every 100,000 people in the city.
Methodology
We analysed the 30 biggest towns and cities in the UK (for which data was available) on the following five factors, giving each a normalised score out of ten on each factor, before taking an average score across all five.
Marriages
The number of marriages and civil partnerships in the most recent year for which data was available, per 100,000 people.
Figures for England and Wales sourced from the Office for National Statistics’ marriages in England and Wales and civil partnership formations datasets.
Figures for Scotland sourced from the National Records of Scotland’s marriages and civil partnership time series data.
Babies born
The number of live births in 2019 according to the Office for National Statistics’ birth characteristics dataset, per 100,000 people.
‘Date night’, ‘engagement ring’, and flower delivery searches
The number of searches per 100,000 people for each of the above terms, according to Google Ads’ Keyword Planner.
