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.
9. Joe Cocker
"I never picked up a guitar as a kid, partly because my dad didn't want the noise in our little back-to-back in Sheffield," Joe Cocker, who was brought up on Tasker Road in Crookes, once said as he explained why he became a singer. Photo: Dennis Lound
10. Sean Bean
Asked by the Daily Mirror in 2008 what his epitaph would be, actor Sean Bean - a staunch Blades fan, as this picture shows - said: "He was a good father, a decent bloke and a good actor. And he was so pleased to have lived long enough to see Sheffield United win their fourth consecutive Premiership title on goal difference from Leeds United." Photo: Bruno Vincent