Birmingham Airport Rejects Calls To Rename Itself After Ozzy Osbourne
The boss of Birmingham International Airport has shut down calls from fans to rename the travel hub after the late, great Ozzy Osbourne, but fans have vowed to keep up the pressure until airport management gives in.
Following Ozzy’s death back in July, former Kerrang! Radio presenter Dan Hudson launched a change.org petition calling for Birmingham Airport to be renamed as Ozzy Osbourne International.
The petition has racked up almost 77,000 signatures with Hudson writing: “Other airports in the UK are named after their famous children (George Best International Airport in Belfast, John Lennon Airport in Liverpool) so it is only right that we do this here in Birmingham, in honour of Ozzy.”
That’s not a bad point, to be fair. I thought it was a ridiculous idea until he pointed that out, but now I’m not so sure. If George Best and John Lennon can get airports in their cities named after them, then why can’t Ozzy? After all, he was the biggest ambassador that Birmingham (and the West Midlands) had. He’s probably the #1 figure that most people around the world associate with Birmingham.
Sharon Osbourne has backed the idea, saying: “It would be amazing. The world loved Ozzy. It’s just a dream right now but sometimes dreams come true.”
Unfortunately, in an interview with BBC Radio WM, Birmingham Airport CEO Nick Barton categorically ruled out the name change.
Barton said: “Birmingham, amazingly, has an extraordinary list of fantastically influential people, going from historic people like Charles Darwin, as well as Robert Plant and Sir Lenny Henry but the answer is no.
“The airport name is so important for our future development of what we’ve got, which is a fantastic airport, but yet to grow significantly, which we will do on the back of its name.”
Jeez, what a party pooper. However, he did confirm that Birmingham Airport is working on an “exciting homage” to Ozzy, so that’s nice.
He said: “It’ll be like a mural recognition of Ozzy and other greats in the area.
“We know he was an inspiration to so many in our region proving talent, hard work and commitment can take you to all corners of the world and we are committed to honouring his legacy within our terminal space.”
Not a bad compromise, I guess.
For the time Ozzy Osbourne’s mind was completely blown by hearing himself sampled on a Lil Jon track, click HERE.
