Birmingham Commonwealth Games Raging Bull official name revealed
The official name for Birmingham's much-loved Commonwealth Games' Raging Bull has been announced.
It's to be known as Ozzy.
A competition to name the sculpture was launched earlier this year, with members of the public invited to send in suggestions for names.
Ozzy was picked from a shortlist of Ozzy, Brummie, Bostin or Boulton.
It received nearly 20,000 votes, followed by Brummie in second place with just over 3 thousand, Bostin in third, and Boulton in fourth.
More than 28,000 people voted in the poll to name the Raging Bull.
Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, says he can't wait to see the bull take pride of place in the station: "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!"
The 10-metre tall creation will live permanently in the atrium at Birmingham New Street station to welcome visitors to the city. It's due to be unveiled at the end of July.
The bull was the centrepiece to last year’s Commonwealth Games' opening ceremony and it is currently in the final stages of major work to make it suitable for its new home inside the station.
The 2.5 tonne machine, which became known as the Raging Bull, was seen by an estimated four million visitors while in its temporary home in Centenary Square in 2022 and was designed in homage to the city's contribution to the Industrial Revolution.
Commenting on the news 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 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."
Special effects designers Artem, which originally built the bull, are re-moulding new parts so it meets fire regulations and fitting exciting new mechanisms so its head, eyes and tail can continue to move in similar ways to they did during the Games.