Ever since Trump announced his Hunger Games-esq Patriot Games, rhetoric from the dystopian Sci-Fi series has creeped onto social media.
‘Watching from District 12’ is a phrase that keeps cropping up on TikTok, usually in the comments of videos created by influencers which showcase their wealth.
District 12 is a deeply deprived coal mining neighbourhood in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games, a lower-class area of society which has been overlooked by the affluent and extravagant Capitol.
In the books, the district sits in what is said to be emblematic of America’s Appalachian Mountains, corresponding to parts of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
But if the Hunger Games series had been set in the UK, which cities or counties would represent each of the 13 districts of the blockbuster franchise?
Some on TikTok have already shared their nominations, and there are a few strong contenders, but we’ve curated the ultimate district map for the UK.
The Capitol
A no-brainer, the UK equivalent is, of course, London.
In The Hunger Games, the Capitol is the opulent ruling city of Panem (the fictional nation), which hosts the games and boasts extravagant property, food, and fashion.
Online, everyone agrees on this one. London is the only city that comes close to it in the UK.
Home to the Crown Jewels, performances like Cirque du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall, and masterful afternoon tea at The Shard, you get as close to the excessive lifestyle of the Capitol’s inhabitants.
With an average house price of £665,168 over the past year, our capital sits at well above the UK average house price of £269,000, according to statistics from the UK government.
District 1
District 1 is the wealthiest district outside the Capitol, producing luxury items and jewels, and it’s considered the best place to live that isn’t in the main city itself.
Oxfordshire and The Cotswolds get our vote, as well as from numerous others on TikTok.
Not only is it a stunning place to live, but it’s packed with celebrities. Home to the likes of Hugh Grant, Kate Moss, Jamie Dornan, The Beckhams, and of course, King Charles and Queen Camilla, it’s where the upper crust like to retreat to.
District 2
Another wealthy district, this city is responsible for manufacturing weapons and masonry.
Our pick for the UK equivalent? Edinburgh.
Locals are the posh totties of Scotland, fitting District 2’s wealthy lifestyle. But more importantly, the Bonnie capital sees stone masonry feature strongly in its buildings, especially its medieval Edinburgh Castle.
It has sandstone quarries such as Craighleith, which was active from 1615 and closed in 1942, and Hailes, which was active from 1750 to the 1920s.
District 3
The home of electronics, District 3 is another place which is relatively salubrious and close to the Capitol.
A British equivalent to this is Milton Keynes. While Coventry gave it a run for its money with its gigafactory development, the Bedfordshire city is home to more than 2,400 tech companies, which generate £3.4 billion annually, according to Milton Keynes City Council.
Not to mention the industrial city is served by an army of autonomous grocery delivery robots, which first appeared in 2018, and is the property of the futuristic-sounding Starship Technologies.
District 4
District 4 is responsible for fishing, and its UK equivalent could only be Aberdeen.
While some TikTokers suggested Cornwall, this Scottish city has a brilliant and diverse range of rivers and lochs to fish from.
There are the Rivers Dee, Don, Ythan, and Feugh, which offer salmon, sea trout and brown trout.
It also boasts Peterhead, a massive port for fishing on the coast, which allows for catching cod, pollock, coalfish, and mackerel. (At least Rick Stein won’t have to worry about fighting 23 other tributes in an arena any time soon.)
District 5
If you’re in District 5, you aren’t wealthy but you aren’t struggling, either. It’s fundamental to the running of Panem because it’s responsible for producing all the electricity needed via a hydroelectric dam.
Kent is the UK’s logical option, with its major offshore wind farms. The first, Kentish Flats opened in 2005, and since then it’s welcomed other developments like the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm which was the world’s largest at the time of opening in 2010.
District 6
This transportation hub provides other districts with everything from high-speed bullet trains to hovercrafts.
Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow all received nominations on TikTok but we wanted to give somewhere else a chance to shine.
District 6 is represented by Northern Ireland’s capital city of Belfast. It’s where the iconic Titanic was built, starting in 1909, which feeds into its rich shipbuilding heritage, which began way back in 1636.
Scotsman William Ritchie (known as the father of Belfast shipbuilding) came to the city in March 1791, bringing with him joiners and blacksmiths from Scotland so that ships could be repaired in the Irish shipyards, without needing to go to Liverpool or Glasgow.
District 7
Known for producing lumber, or timber as us Brits call it, it’s safe to say District 7’s UK equivalent needs to have a lot of trees.
Where has an abundance of trees, you ask? Surrey. Impressively aerial mapping by OVO Energy revealed Surrey has the highest percentage of land covered in trees in Britain.
A healthy 31% of the county is covered in trees, so there’s plenty of wood to cut down (although we don’t want to see Surrey lose any trees).
District 8
The home of textiles, District 8 isn’t rewarded financially for its hard work.
This was a tricky one because we felt there were two worthy candidates. West Yorkshire, particularly Leeds, because of its wool production, or Lancashire, specifically Manchester, known for its cotton.
Ultimately, though, West Yorkshire pipped the latter to the post because it still plays a fundamental role in producing textiles for designers, including Burberry.
In fact, it has the UK’s largest textiles sector, employing more than 10,000 people across the region.
District 9
District 9 produces grain, and while TikTokers suggested Yorkshire as its British equivalent, we feel there’s a stronger contender.
Known as the ‘bread basket’ of the UK, Norfolk is a major grain-producing county which has conditions ideal for wheat and barley specifically.
In fact, farmers in East Anglia grow enough grain to produce 5,774 million loaves of bread per year, according to The Quadram Institute. That’s surely enough to keep the Capitol going.
District 10
Poor District 10 is where they rear all the livestock, and there’s only one place we can think deserves to be its equivalent.
It’s Wales. Yes, we’re referring to the country as a whole, but given there are more than 10 million sheep, according to the Welsh government, compared to its roughly three million people, we think we can get away with it.
Astonishingly, the 2023 Agricultural and Horticultural Survey found more than 90% of the land area in Wales is given over to farming, and due to the nature of the land, it’s mostly used for sheep and cattle.
District 11
Known for its agriculture, District 11 is all about farming, not that it reaps any of the benefits.
It’s only logical that Lincolnshire would be the UK’s District 11, given its home to extensive arable farming. It makes up part of The Fens (a collective term for Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk), which supplies around 20% of England’s potatoes, vegetables and sugar beets, according to Lincolnshire Pride magazine.
It employs more than 75,000 people in its agricultural sector and is responsible for more than £2 billion of crops and livestock.
District 12
The seriously deprived area of District 12 is home to the heroine Katniss Everdeen and its industry is coal mining.
Sunderland and Cardiff both received honourable mentions on TikTok, but the Geordie blood in my veins just couldn’t let them have it.
Newcastle would be the District 12 equivalent, given that ‘taking the coals to Newcastle’ is a staple phrase in the English vernacular.
A former major coal producer, the North Eastern city is by no means as affluent as those in the Home Counties, but still played a vital role in the UK’s industrial sector.
District 13
Ah, the forgotten and neglected District 13, which secretly became an underground city. It was once responsible for Panem’s military forces, although this was handed to District 2 upon its destruction.
Now it’s a hub for nuclear technology, but was unknown to the Capitol.
Its equivalent is Argyll and Bute, in Scotland, with a particular focus on The Gare Loch. Here resides the HM Naval Base Clyde, which is home to the UK’s nuclear deterrent submarines, known as Trident subs.
There are more than 200 nuclear bombs in Scotland, most of which are here, according to the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
So, which district is your hometown in?
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