Friday 26 Jul 2024
Anniversary celebrations mark one year of Ozzy at Birmingham New Street
- Region & Route:
- North West & Central
- | North West & Central: Central
The star of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is celebrating his first anniversary at Birmingham New Street.
Passengers and shoppers are being invited to join in with the celebrations and enjoy a free cupcake, have their photo taken with the famous bull and sign his giant special birthday card.
The much-loved icon, named after one of Birmingham’s famous sons, Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, was unveiled live on national television a year ago today (26 July 2023) by Ozzy’s wife Sharon Osbourne, his sister Jean, and members of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony cast.
He has been a hit with passengers, shoppers, and visitors ever since, having his photo taken and providing a focal point inside the station to meet family, friends and colleagues.
The name Ozzy was chosen after a public vote and his permanent home inside Birmingham New Street station was made possible after Network Rail and the West Midlands Combined Authority worked with Ozzy’s creators, Artem Special Effects, and the Commonwealth Games organisers to keep him in Birmingham.
Denise Wetton, route director for Network Rail Central, said: “Birmingham New Street station sits at the heart of Britain’s railway, and it’s been amazing to see thousands of people saying hello to Ozzy and taking selfies since he was unveiled a year ago today.
“We have received so many positive comments about Ozzy over the last 12 months which shows just how loved he is. We’re proud to have been able to give this icon of the city a permanent home and to celebrate his first anniversary with us.”
Ozzy’s celebrations will continue until 6pm on Sunday and people posting photographs online can use the hashtag #OzzyNewStreet. More information about Birmingham New Street is available by following the @NetworkRailBHM X (Twitter) account.
Birmingham New Street has seen a steady increase of passengers and visitors to the station over the last year, with an average of 85,000 more people using the station each week, bringing passenger numbers to an average of nearly one million a week, similar to those seen before the Covid pandemic.
Notes to Editors
Raging Bull, as Ozzy was originally known, featured in the official Opening Ceremony for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The ceremony was held in the Alexander Stadium on 28 July 2022. Created from the machinery from industry and factories of Birmingham and the West Country, the Bull was pulled on stage by 50 women representing the female chain-makers of the Industrial Revolution who made chains in the slave trade. This segment of the ceremony featured the women breaking free from their chains to symbolise release from oppression.
The Bull was commissioned by Birmingham Ceremonies Ltd, a joint venture between GBA and Done+Dusted, for the Opening Ceremony under the artistic direction of Iqbal Khan. The original creative concept for the Bull was created by Misty Buckley and the structure fabricated by Artem. The Raging Bull and its Intellectual Property was formally handed over to Network Rail on 7 February 2023.
The original Bull was 10 metres high, weighed 2.5 tonnes and it was designed, built and mechanised by a team of more than 50 people by UK based special effects company Artem. They have been behind the rebuild of the bull so it could be permanently displayed inside Birmingham New Street station, Britain’s busiest railway station outside of London. The Bull was originally constructed of lightweight aluminium tubing but has now almost been completely rebuilt in lightweight fire-retardant glass-reinforced plastic moulds to meet fire regulations.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk