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We all know that Homer and Marge Simpson live in Springfield, but is that Springfield, Oregon or Springfield, Nebraska?

Or, perhaps, Springfield, Colorado, Springfield, Missouri ... Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Louisiana or Illinois.

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• Watch the winning video in the hunt to find the real Springfield

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Actually, following the running of a US-wide competition between aspiring Springfields, it is the Vermont version with its population of 9,300.

The creator of the popular cartoon series, Matt Groening, located the Simpsons in the fictional town of Springfield after noting that this was one of the most common US town names. But in the series’ 18-year history it has never been made clear which of the 34 Springfields in the United States was the basis for the version in the cartoon, a satirical parody of Middle American lifestyle.

Some already had a claim to fame, such as Springfield, Illinois, which was home to Abraham Lincoln, and Springfield, Massachusetts, known as the birthplace of basketball.

But the chance to host the July 26 premiere of the first Simpsons movie and become the real-life home for the Simpsons sparked new rivalry and 14 towns fought for the right to be called the "real Springfield".

The Vermont Springfield was declared the winner after an online vote with people asked to choose the video entry that best represents the “Simpsons’ spirit”.

We're so excited," says Patricia Chaffee, vice president of the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce.

"We came in at the last minute, and for us to win, we feel like the underdogs, which makes this so big and so great for us."

Many of the losing video entries focus on similarities between their town and the cartoon one, featuring residents who look like the cartoon characters and matching historical events with those in cartoon episodes.

Illinois’s entry features Todd Renfrow, general manager of the local power plant, whose receding hairline and elongated nose resembles the Simpsons’ villain, power plant owner Montgomery Burns.

The 2,800 residents in Springfield, Kentucky, pitched in to raise $1,100 to finance its video entry, which imagines Groening being brought before a court and shown witnesses, including Homer Simpson, to prove the series is based on their town.

The film’s producer, Michael Breeding, claimed an episode in which Bart beheads a statue of the town founder was based on events in Kentucky when a war veteran statue was vandalised.

Springfield, Massachusetts, snared the participation of Senator Edward Kennedy, who is often mocked in the series and in this video makes fun of his family’s Boston accent.

“But we’re all winners. It’s made a lot of Springfields more popular than they may have been before,” said Mr Farley.

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