It was granted city status in 1992, the Ruby Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne.

Competition from overseas caused a downturn in demand for Sunderland built ships toward the end of the 20th century.

The Mackem accent and dialect is often mistaken for Geordie by people not from the region, as the two tongues sound similar in pronunciation and diction.

The Sunderland dialect also has several variations between different areas of the city, as demonstrated when the hoax tapes purporting to be of the Yorkshire Ripper were analysed.

When the perpetrator, John Humble was eventually caught he confirmed that he did indeed attend school in the Castletown area of Sunderland in his childhood.

[18] Some parts of the area are also widely believed to be the inspiration for his Alice in Wonderland stories, such as Hylton Castle and Backhouse Park.

Lewis Carroll was also a visitor to the Rectory of Holy Trinity Church, Southwick; then a township independent of Sunderland.

The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art on Fawcett Street and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens showcase exhibitions and installations from up-and-coming and established artists alike, with the latter holding an extensive collection of Lowry's work.

[23] Sunderland has produced a modest number of musicians that have gone on to reach international fame, most notably Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics.

Kenickie, which featured Lauren Laverne on vocals, also achieved a top ten album and wide critical acclaim in the mid-to-late 1990s.

Other famous Sunderland musicians include punk rockers The Toy Dolls, who broke the top five of the charts with "Nellie the Elephant" in December 1984; the melodic hardcore punk band Leatherface; the lead singer of dance outfit Olive, Ruth Ann Boyle, who achieved a UK chart-topper with "You're Not Alone" in May 1997 and has gone on to work with fellow chart-toppers Enigma; and A Tribe of Toffs, who made number 21 with their cult hit "John Kettley is a Weatherman" in December 1988.

On 7 and 8 May 2005, Sunderland played host to BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend concert—the UK's largest free music festival.

The event, held at Herrington Country Park in the shadow of Penshaw Monument, was attended by 30,000 visitors and featured Foo Fighters, Kasabian, KT Tunstall, Chemical Brothers and The Black Eyed Peas.

The Sunderland Stadium of Light has hosted regular concerts since 2009, including the likes of Oasis, Take That, Coldplay, Kings of Leon and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The Sunderland Empire Theatre, opened in 1907, is the largest theatre in the North East, reopened in December 2004 following a major redevelopment allowing it to stage West End shows such as Miss Saigon, Starlight Express and My Fair Lady, all of which have been performed at the Empire.

Renowned film producer David Parfitt belonged to this company before achieving worldwide fame and is now a patron of the theatre.

The Empire also played host to the final performance of comic actor Sid James, who died of a heart attack whilst on stage in 1976.

The city is covered by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees, which has a regional office in the university's Media Centre.