Does freedom of the city allow you to graze sheep?

4 September 2012 Last updated at 21:59 ET

Olympians Sir Chris Hoy and Jessica Ennis are set to be given the freedom of their home cities. So what does it mean to be a freeman or freewoman?

Will Britain's most successful Olympian be able to graze his cattle on The Mound in Edinburgh?

Or if the gold medal-winning cyclist decides to ditch his bike and attempt to park his car for free on George Street, will he be "exempt for tolls and charges in the city", as freemen of the past would have been?

Similarly, if Ennis wants to use her freedom of Sheffield - expected to be approved on 5 September - to drive sheep through the centre of the city, will she be allowed?

The answer is no. The award is symbolic and grazing rights are not part of the modern freeman's privileges.

Hoy, who will get his freeman status on 16 September, would still expect a parking ticket from the Scottish capital's blue meanies.

So what use is being given the freedom of the city?

Philip Whiteman, from the Institute of Local Government Studies at the University of Birmingham, says it is "not dissimilar" to the Honours list awarded on behalf of the Queen.

"It is effectively the only way that a local authority can confer honours," he explains.

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Does freedom of the city allow you to graze sheep?