Birmingham New Street's bull has been named ‘Ozzy' following a national public poll to find the perfect name for the impressive sculpture.
The bull became popular at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony back in 2022, after which it was supposed to be scrapped. However, a massive campaign saw the mechanical beast rescued.
The massive metal bull has been in storage in a car park under a tarpaulin over winter when Network Rail revealed that it had found the perfect home for the sculpture at Birmingham New Street station where it can be enjoyed by thousands of passengers each day.
Thursday the 22nd of June saw the second stage of a competition organised with the West Midlands Combined Authority to find the vast moving sculpture with a name and now, the public has spoken!
The first stage of the contest saw 2,000 name suggestions made which were whittled down by Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and Lord Peter Hendy, Network Rail Chair, to just four – Ozzy, Brummie, Bostin and Boulton. The following vote to select the name took place online running from Tuesday the 20th of June.
The vote saw 28,000 votes made with 70% of those being for Ozzy, which was chosen in honour of well-loved Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, who made a surprise performance at the closing ceremony of the games.
Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, chair of Network Rail, said:
“Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to at first send in their name suggestions and then vote for their favourite in the final four – it truly shows how much affection people have for this star of the Commonwealth Games.”
“It also proves to us how much of an honour it is for Network Rail to be the custodian of Ozzy the bull, and for New Street station to be its home. I can't wait for it to be unveiled on the station concourse in time for the first anniversary of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.”
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:
“So the public have had their say on what we should name the Bull and they couldn't have made a clearer choice. Ozzy won by a resounding margin with a whopping 70% after more than 28,000 votes were cast.”
“Like people right across our region, I cannot wait to see Ozzy take pride of place in New Street Station in a triumphant homecoming this summer – proudly bearing the name of the Prince of Darkness himself!”
“My huge thanks once again to Network Rail for bringing the Bull home to Birmingham. The iconic symbol of the 2022 Commonwealth Games is back where it belongs.”
A time-lapse video has also been released on the 22nd of June, which shows the finishing touches made by special effects specialists and creators of ‘Ozzy' – Artem.
Mike Kelt, CEO of Artem, said:
“It's quite emotional for us that people in Birmingham wanted the bull to become a permanent fixture, and when we saw how much people enjoyed it when it was on temporary display in Centenary Square during the games last summer was hugely humbling.”
“That said, turning the bull into something which will live inside a railway station permanently and fit through its front doors as part of a giant jigsaw puzzle, has been a huge challenge, but one we're certainly relishing to finish – and what better name than Ozzy for it!”
On completion, Ozzy will make his way from Artem's workshop in West London over to the West Midlands for its rebuild on Birmingham New Street station's concourse, behind a huge hoarding. Passengers making their way through the station will find the look and feel of the concourse a little different. However, the rebuild of Ozzy will not affect train services.
Ozzy's big reveal will take place fittingly on the first anniversary of the Commonwealth Games.
