The much-loved centrepiece to last year's Commonwealth Games – Ozzy the bull – has been officially unveiled in his new home at Birmingham New Street station.
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.
The area around Birmingham's current Bullring shopping centre, has been known as the Bull Ring, at least informally, since the 16th century, when permission was granted to bait bulls on a green close to St Martin's church. The bulls were tethered to a ring secured in the ground, before being baited by dogs.
Named after Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne in a public vote, the 33ft (10m) tall sculpture is being constructed behind hoardings. Ozzy the bull will be built in time to be unveiled to mark the games' first anniversary on 28 July. People are asked to leave extra time to get to their platform.
Birmingham 'Raging Bull' name decided after public vote
What are the names on the Commonwealth Games bull?
The mechanical bull that formed the centrepiece of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony is to be named after one of the city's most famous sons: Ozzy Osbourne. The name of the Black Sabbath singer was chosen by a public poll, winning 70% of the votes to beat Brummie, Bostin and Boulton.
Published: Wednesday 26 Jul 2023. The much-loved centrepiece to last year's Commonwealth Games – Ozzy the bull – has been officially unveiled in his new home at Birmingham New Street station.
The 10-meter creation, which was designed as a homage to the city's contribution to the Industrial Revolution, has been rebuilt by a specialist team of designers and engineers and is now on display at Birmingham New Street station.
At the end of the Games, the mechanical marvel was seen by an estimated four million visitors while in its temporary home in Centenary Square. Then, in September 2022, it was moved to a car park in Ladywood, with a pledge it would be found a more fitting and final home.
The mechanical bull which formed the centrepiece of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony is to be given a permanent home in the city's main railway station.
In the 16th century a man called John Cooper was given the right to bait bulls at a site opposite St Martins Church, this became known as the Bull Ring. By the early 19th century the area around St. Martins had become crowded with old buildings, narrow streets and traders stalls.
Why is the bull significant to Birmingham? The Raging bull nods towards Birmingham's history of the bull ring market, a place where bulls were once held before slaughter, and the workers of the industrial revolution.
Ozzy is named after heavy metal legend and Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who is originally from Birmingham, and the name was the overwhelming winner in a public poll. Ozzy is a 10-metre-high moving sculpture and is currently being built behind huge hoardings on the station concourse.
The city's association with the bull stems from the Bull Ring, a market area of Birmingham in the Middle Ages onwards where bulls were once held before slaughter.
The market in the Bull Ring has played a crucial role in the development of Birmingham from the 12th century until the present day. The most obvious feature here is the church of St Martin's-in-the-Bull Ring. In front of St Martin's Church was a roughly triangular open space.
During the time of Queen Anne, bull-baiting was practiced in London at Hockley-in-the-Hole, twice a week – and was also reasonably common in provincial towns, for instance at Birmingham's Bull Ring. At Tutbury, a bull was tied to an iron stake so that it could move within a radius of about 30 feet.
Here is the moment the huge mechanical bull was officially unveiled. Ozzy the mechanical bull - created for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games - has been officially unveiled in his new home at Birmingham New Street Station.
London, U.K.: July 26 2022 – Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”) has increased its ownership stake in Bullring Shopping Centre (“Bullring”), Birmingham to 50%, having acquired an additional 33.3% stake from Nuveen Real Estate, to add to its existing 16.7% ownership.
New mechanisms installed so the bull can move its mouth, head, eyes, eyelids, and tail, and speakers to make it roar. The opportunity was taken to rebuild the legs and underside which will now be seen in full 360 degrees. The bull being painstakingly dismantled, trucked to the station and rebuilt.
Where is the bull going after the Commonwealth Games?
The huge mechanical bull from the 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony has started to be built in his new home at Birmingham's New Street station. Named after Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne in a public vote, the 33ft (10m) tall sculpture is being constructed behind hoardings.
Birmingham's beloved Raging Bull is having a mini-makeover - and will be in position at New Street station within weeks, it emerged today, Wednesday, May 24. The symbol of last year's Commonwealth Games' has been found a new home in the city centre after huge public demands for it to stay permanently.
Between 1994 and 1997, the club mascot took the form of a blue nose, though it is now a dog named Beau Brummie, a play on the name Beau Brummell and Brummie, the slang word for a person from Birmingham. A number of supporters' clubs are affiliated to the football club, both in England and abroad.
Perry was the official mascot of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. The organisers named him Perry after Perry Barr, the area of Birmingham where the games' primary venue, Alexander Stadium is located. He is a bull in reference to Birmingham's historic Bull Ring market.
Why is a bull the mascot of the Commonwealth Games?
A bull adorned with a patchwork of multi-coloured hexagons called Perry will be the mascot for Birmingham 2022. Based upon the design of 10-year-old Emma Lou, the winner of a national design competition, the mascot owes its origin to Birmingham's historic links to a market area known as the Bull Ring.
