Mayor of Hamilton Charles Gosling has paid tribute to the history of City Hall during an event to mark its 50th anniversary.

The Hamilton landmark was opened on February 11, 1960 by then Governor Sir Julian Gascoigne, and since then there have been ten mayors of Hamilton, all men.

The celebrations on Thursday, were attended by current Governor Sir Richard Gozney, the Bishop of Bermuda Patrick White and current and former Corporation members.

Mr. Gosling said on Thursday: "Today is an opportunity to glance at our history, recognise some of the wonderful moments that have taken place in this building and prepare for the next 50 years.

"When planning today's event, we reviewed what happened during the opening ceremony of City Hall on February 11, 1960. We examined our archives, confirmed that the then Governor of Bermuda, Sir Julian Gascoigne was on hand to perform the ribbon cutting ceremony and to say a few words.

"We found copies of the invitation, programme and order of events and felt we could recreate many aspects of the ceremony they held in 1960."

The Mayor said the Hall is used to house the Bermuda Society of Arts and the Bermuda National Gallery and the theatre stage has seen shows including ballet, jazz, hip-hop and one man acts.

Mr. Gosling also spoke about opening up the Corporation's meetings to the public.

"At the end of last year we started with Town Hall meetings, then opened the Board meetings to the public for the first time in the Corporation's history. Voters and city stakeholders can now hear our deliberations and knowingly hold us accountable.

"Starting in April the meetings will allow members of the public, in a set format, to participate by making statements and asking questions of the Members. This is an example of basic democracy in action. I believe the audiences attending the meetings will become more active as residents and business owners in Hamilton see the value of immediate interaction that can only be provided by self-governing local government.

"I hope our proposed changes to the Municipalities Act will be seriously examined and enacted upon by Government and this will stand us in good stead as we continuously improve the operations, functions and governance of this Corporation to the betterment of the Island."

The event kicked off the year-long celebrations and exhibits will be on display featuring photographs of City Hall as it was being built.