The Guardian view on Sheffield and snooker: hope for an overlooked northern giant | Editorial

Keeping the world championship in the UK is good news for a city and region which have punched under their weight Sheffield was still an industrial powerhouse when George Orwell suggested that it “could justly claim to be called the ugliest town in the Old World” – adding that “its inhabitants, who want it to be pre-eminent in everything, very likely do make that claim for it”. The steel mills and smog that he loathed disappeared, but much of the city’s confidence dissipated with its heavy industry. Though one of the country’s largest cities, it has punched below its economic and cultural weight. Manchester remains the northern colossus; Leeds proclaims itself the unofficial capital of Yorkshire. Last week’s announcement that the world snooker championship would remain at Sheffield’s Crucible theatre until 2045 was not just a surprise after heavy hints that it could move to Saudi Arabia or China: it was a major relief for a neglected northern giant. In an age of sportwashing, the decision sent a welcome message that sport is about communities, not just profits. Sheffield has hosted the tournament since 1977 and the former finalist Jimmy White compared it to tennis at Wimbledon: “Ce