Ozzy Osbourne may have swapped Birmingham’s streets for the bright lights of global fame but it felt like to fans that the Prince of Darkness never strayed from his roots.
Thousands of fans gathered on Wednesday in Birmingham to pay their respects at his funeral procession as his coffin took a final journey through the city.
As one of the city’s most iconic musicians, his legacy is both a badge of honour and a unique opportunity for Birmingham to remember one of their favourite sons – so how could Birmingham remember Ozzy?
Liverpool John Lennon Airport, George Best Belfast City Airport, Louis Armstrong Airport and even JFK in New York, we are not short of airports being named after famous people.
Well, more than 58,000 people have backed a petition calling for Birmingham Airport to be renamed as the “Ozzy Osbourne International”.
Dan Hudson, who started it, said the change would be a fitting tribute to his extraordinary career and contributions to the arts.
“If you look at other places around the world that have musical scenes that have started in those cities, like Nashville or Memphis or LA or Detroit or Chicago, they don’t shut up about the fact that those musical scenes have sprung out of those areas,” he told the BBC.
“We don’t do that here in Birmingham, and I don’t know why that is and I think that needs to change – a great way of doing that will be to rename the airport.”
While not ruled out by managers at the airport, the idea has not so far had a thumbs up from them – a spokesperson saying instead that the rock legend was “an inspiration to so many in our region”.
“In coming weeks, we will be looking at how we can celebrate his heritage and contribution to the region via terminal artwork, creating a greater sense of place for Birmingham and his fans,” they added
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