Great cities like Bristol do not just happen overnight. From Brunel to Banksy, so many people have contributed in unique ways to the place we all love today.
Things could have been so different. If not for the hard work of Bristolians, Queen Square could still be home to a dual carriageway and, perhaps even more shockingly, our harbour could have been filled in with concrete.
The latter goes down in history as one of the things Bristol can be thankful never happened. The 1967 Development Plan proposed a road over the harbour at Jacob Wells.
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Bristol Docks would have closed, in a bid to encourage shipping into Avonmouth Docks. "The plan shows the Outer Circuit Road sweeping down from Clifton to a huge roundabout near Coronation Road, and on towards Bedminster," the Inland Waterways Association wrote.
"Bush's Warehouse that now houses the Arnolfini was to be demolished along with warehouses to make way for another new road from the bottom of Jacob's Wells Road across St Augustine's Reach and past Queen Square.
"This would have closed off St Augustine's Reach to water traffic. The Feeder Canal was to be filled in to widen Feeder Road, and the whole area around Hill's dockyard that now houses the Great Britain and Bristol Marina was also to be filled in, and just a narrow channel left to the Bathhurst Bridge area."
A team of dedicated campaigners fought against the move - and their plan was inspired. Members of the Inland Waterways Association suggested a 'rally of boats' should be held to show the potential of the harbour.
The first Bristol Water Festival took place in 1971 and its enormous success led to the proposals for the harbour being shelved. The festival later became known as the Bristol Harbour Festival, a huge event which brings tall ships, live entertainment and hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city each July.
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A 2021 Bristol City Council report gave a brief history of the event, recalling: "The floating harbour was designed and built in the early 1800s and the docks became a vital part of Bristol's economy. In the 20th Century its prominence began to fade and it was proposed in the 1960s that the docks be closed.
"Local groups took up the fight to save the docks, and the first Harbour Festival was organised in 1971. The event grew in size and importance as the years passed, and even when plans to tamper with the docks were shelved, the festival has continued and grown ever since."
It is hard to imagine Bristol without its beautiful harbour now, but it could have been lost without the efforts of those 1970s campaigners.
This article was first published in 2019 as part of a longer round-up of the best things that ever happened to Bristol. It has been updated with additional information for 2024