A petition has launched to rename Birmingham Airport after Ozzy Osbourne – and it’s gaining momentum
In light of Ozzy Osbourne passing away on Tuesday, a campaign has been launched to rename Birmingham International Airport in honour of the Prince of Darkness.
Started up by Dan Hudson, one half of the A Gay And A Nongay podcast, the Change.org petition proposes Birmingham’s airport should be rebranded as Ozzy Osbourne International. The campaign currently has over 3,500 signatures, a figure that is steadily rising.
READ MORE: “We’ve lost our brother”: Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne
“Ozzy Osbourne was the most important musician ever to hail from Birmingham,” Hudson writes. “He rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the pioneering rock band Black Sabbath, who invented the genre of heavy metal.”
“Ozzy’s influence on music and culture is undeniable,” he explains. “Naming our international airport after him would be a fitting tribute to his extraordinary career and contributions to the arts.”
His argument goes on to note other airports in the UK that honour famous local exports. With Belfast honouring one of its finest footballers with George Best International Airport, and Liverpool having the Beatles-inspired John Lennon Airport in Liverpool, Hudson believes Ozzy deserves to be honoured in the same way.
“Together, we can celebrate the legacy of Ozzy Osbourne and the incredible influence our city has had on the world stage, thanks to him,” he concludes.
Many supporters have left comments, further supporting the legacy Ozzy leaves in his wake. “Ozzy Osbourne’s music saved my life when I was in middle school and suicidal,” one supporter explains. “He was truly a living legend and if not for him, I wouldn’t be here right now. Naming Birmingham Airport after him would be HUGE, and the best nod to him possible.”
“When I was a teen I was guitar player in a band, and I was in horrible explosion,” another backer writes. “As a result I lost 2 finger tips, and believed I could no longer play guitar, and was very depressed. My uncle threw Black Sabbath’s Paranoid album at me and said listen to that, so I did. Later, my uncle said ‘Tony Iommi is the guitar player for that band, he is missing his fingers as well – so get you ass up and start playing!’”
“This was my introduction to Ozzy, who I also had many common grounds with,” he continues. “Ozzy had a way of making you feel understood and less alone in the world. Through his music, he’s the only celebrity I ever shed a tear for. Thank you so much for everything Ozzy, you are loved and will be missed by the world. He will always be with us, just press play.”
“Ozzy and the band felt Birmingham was important enough to them that they finished both Black Sabbath’s final tour there in 2017 and then finished their careers there a few weeks ago,” another person notes. “They loved Birmingham and carried it with them everywhere they went. Now Birmingham can welcome the world through Ozzy, by naming the airport for him.”
A handful of other petitions are also making the rounds on Change.org in honour of Ozzy. One petition is hoping to have a statue of the Prince of Darkness erected near Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital – a reminder of the nearly $200 million raised through the Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning benefit gig, with a portion going to the hospital.
Another petition hopes to rename Download Festival’s main stage, changing the name from the Apex Stage to the Ozzy Stage. Considering Black Sabbath quite literally invented heavy metal, it sounds like an absolutely fantastic way of honouring Ozzy’s musical legacy.
You can head to Change.org to sign the Ozzy Osbourne International petition.
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