In honor of the late Ozzy Osbourne, the city’s most well-known son passed away on Tuesday, and a petition has been launched to rename Birmingham’s international airport has been launched.
A petition has been launched to rename Birmingham’s international airport in the wake of the city’s most famous son dying. Ozzy Osbourne, a proud Brummie, died at the age of 76 on Tuesday, just weeks on from the Black Sabbath frontman playing a farewell gig in his hometown.
As tributes pour in for the heavy metal rocker from all over the world, a ‘Rename Birmingham International Airport as Ozzy Osbourne International’ petition is gaining traction. Created by radio host Dan Hudson, who fronted BBC TV documentary Sashay To Hell, the petition hopes Birmingham will follow the lead of the likes of Belfast and Liverpool in how they honour their homegrown heroes.
According to the petition, “naming our international airport after him would be a fitting tribute to his extraordinary career and contributions to the arts.”
It is only appropriate that we name our Birmingham airport in honor of Ozzy because other airports in the UK are named after their famous children (George Best International Airport in Belfast and John Lennon Airport in Liverpool).
“We can celebrate Ozzy Osbourne’s legacy and the incredible impact our city has had on the world stage thanks to him,” the group says. More than 2,700 people are currently signing the petition.
Lord mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal, has said Ozzy was a “proud Brummie” who helped to put the city “on the world map”. Mr Iqbal met the founding members of the heavy metal band – formed in the city in 1968 – when they were presented with the freedom of Birmingham in June.
He described Osbourne as being very significant and a “proud Brummie.” He adored the city. He will be greatly missed, and the city’s residents loved him greatly. He, in my opinion, placed Birmingham and particularly Aston on the map of the world. We were grateful that he came to and received about six weeks ago because he has done a lot for the city and we have also honored him with the freedom of the city.
Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Ozzy were all praised for their contributions to Birmingham’s cultural and musical heritage as well as for their contributions to the development of heavy metal both in the city and beyond.
Mr Iqbal said: “For me, personally, to meet him was the greatest honour for me… very humble guy, very down-to-earth guy. He spent, I think, a couple of hours in the council house just talking about Aston, Aston Villa Football Club, the people of Birmingham.
The thing I love about him is that at the end of everything he said, he always said, “Birmingham forever,” and we gave him the scrolls and he spoke for a short while on that day. And he never lost sight of his roots, where he was originally from.
The lord mayor added that he spoke with Osbourne fans who were in line to sign a book of condolences that was being held at a Birmingham museum. People, it’s already a long line already. He predicted that hundreds of more people will show up over the weekend to sign the book.
He continued, “Myself and the council will probably have a meeting around this topic and we will decide at a later time what we’re going to be doing,” referring to plans to honor Ozzy. We will definitely do something, but I’m not sure what that will look like at the moment.
Source: Mirror
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