Southend Wins First Prize In A UK Seaside 'Beauty' Contest

Southend-on-Sea has won a UK-wide ‘Beauty Contest’, outperforming 19 other UK seaside resorts based on three factors: ‘Beauty’; ‘Sense of Family’ and “Civic Pride.” It beat amongst others Whitby in North Yorkshire (2nd) and Bournemouth (3rd).

“Southend-on-Sea ticked every box for us,” said Ben Ladd Gibbon, from Winning Moves UK, who visited Southend to unveil the new MONOPOLY: Southend-on-Sea Edition with Mr. MONOPOLY.

As part of the announcement event, the public will be canvassed by a MONOPOLY team as to which Southend landmarks should feature on the board – for example, the Pier, the Western Esplanade, the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend Central Museum, Prittlewell Priory and other leading city crown jewels. Then over a two-week period the public will be invited to formally submit suggestions for city landmarks and organisations to feature in the game.

Cllr. Daniel Cowan, Leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council, says: “We are incredibly proud that Southend has been chosen for its own official MONOPOLY edition. This is a wonderful celebration of our city and everything it represents – from our iconic and world-famous Pier to our coastline to our vibrant businesses and strong Civic Pride, something that is woven into everything we do.

Winning Moves UK is producing the brand-new MONOPOLY: Southend-on-Sea Edition board game, under license from Hasbro. Winning Moves UK makes MONOPOLY editions for places all over the world, including high-profile destinations, such as Palm Beach, Dubai and The Hamptons.

The board will be themed around tourism, heritage, shopping, entertainment, leisure, business and education – all showcasing the very finest Southend-on-Sea has to offer. The quartet of train stations from the original London-based MONOPOLY classic will be handed over to a ‘travel’ theme. Also, the Chance and Community Chest cards will be customised too. One card could send players ‘Back Three Spaces’ for ‘Allowing a seagull to steal your lunch’.

“We expect to be wonderfully spoilt for choice,” added Mr. Ladd Gibbon, Custom Games Partnership Manager at Winning Moves UK.

The public is invited to suggest Southend-on-Sea landmarks to be featured on the famous MONOPOLY spaces, as well as wording for the customised cards. Suggestions can be made by email to: southend@winningmoves.co.uk. Nominations will be accepted for consideration from 10am on 25th June 2025 until 23.59pm on 6th July 2025. The new game will hit the shops next spring (2026).