Grey skies and rain failed to dampen warm enthusiasm and a sunny outlook as plans to celebrate Stoke-on-Trent's centenary were unveiled.

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the granting of city status, following a direct appeal to King George V when the first application was refused by the Home Office because Stoke-on-Trent had fewer than 300,000 inhabitants.

In the decades since the Potteries has experienced further adversities, from the closure of the mines to challenges in the pottery industry. But the resilience and kindness of the Potteries' residents remains and was celebrated – along with the area's creative talents of past, present and future – at an event to launch the Stoke-on-Trent Centenary.

Despite the overcast conditions Gladstone Pottery Museum was abuzz with song, dance and words at Monday's showcase, which gave a taste of events to come in the 2025 celebration and was hosted by Reverend Geoff Eze. Poet Nick Degg gave a moving performance of his work 'I Come from a Town', while pupils from St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School in Hartshill performed upbeat songs and dancers from the Dharshanodiyaa Dance School gave a vibrant display demonstrating the city's diversity.

Yesterday's showcase took place at Gladstone Pottery Museum (Nub News).

Invited guests including Deputy Lord Lieutenant Hannah Ault, High Sheriff of Staffordshire Julia Mitchell and representatives from organisations such as Stoke-on-Trent BID, Staffordshire and Keele Universities, Stoke City and Port Vale football clubs, Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, were treated to tea and coffee served in locally-made "Gladstone Blue" mugs supplied by Duchess China and oatcakes provided by studio kitchen Feasted. They were also given a first look at the Stoke-on-Trent Centenary logo, which features iconic images associated with the city's heritage such as a bottle kiln, Spitfire and duck, and will form part the overall branding.

Councillor Lyn Sharpe, a proud fourth-generation Fentonian, said it was a real honour to be the city's Lord Mayor during such a milestone year. "I can't tell you how excited I am", she told guests.

"I'm really proud to be from Fenton – Arnold Bennett left us out but as Lord Mayor I will be doing my best to up the profile of Fenton. We built this city on clay and coal – we're proud potters, we're plate-turners and clay-heads.

"We live in a city full of diversity. Whether you've lived here all your life, were born here and moved away, or came to live here recently, our centenary celebrations are for you."

Cllr Lyn Sharpe said it was a real honour to be the Lord Mayor during such a milestone year (LDRS).

Events in the centenary year are set to include existing features of the area's calendar, such as the Potters Arf, as well as special music concerts and the return of the city's beer festival to King's Hall after more than a decades' absence. Organisations involved in the centenary include arts groups, schools and local businesses such as Titanic Brewery, which is planning to create a special new beer for the occasion.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader Jane Ashworth said the next year was of "crucial importance to the area. She added: "We know the city has been badly treated by the previous government and that the shift to globalisation has caused immense difficulty to many of our families.

"We know there is a social crisis in our city, with the rising number of children in care, financial issues and failure of services. It's really important for the city we have the right approach to regeneration and community renewal.

"From my point of view cultural regeneration is a really important part of that, people knowing who they are and where they come from. We're a tightly-woven city where the importance of family, community and place all contribute to a strong sense of identity.

"It was forged through its industrial past, built on layers of enterprise and craftsmanship, and infused by waves of migration. It is a city of unusual kindness, where care for one another runs deep, and it is a green city with a superb network of parks and open spaces, traversed by the waterways that once connected our pot-banks to the great ports.

Visitors were also given a first look at the Stoke-on-Trent Centenary logo (LDRS).

"We want to marshal energy across the city, to celebrate what makes us unique and to combine our energy and resources to improve people's lives. To look to the future and celebrate where we're going as well as where we've come from."

Photographer Sarah Peart, a project co-ordinator for Centre Space Arts, grew up in the Potteries and has stayed in the area. The 26-year-old highlighted the city's rich creativity, but said that its wider contribution to the world had been downplayed on occasion because of the modest nature of the workers involved.

"It's a creative city, but people who worked in the factories said it was just their job. Look what they created- it's beautiful.

"This city has its problems, but at the same time you can't not love it. We're pushing ourselves in new directions.

"It's like a new wave is coming. It seems like something is buzzing and it's nice when you see something like this."

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