The Birmingham Walk of Stars is a walk of fame-style installation on the pedestrian pavement of Broad Street in Birmingham, England, which honours notable people from the Birmingham area or with significant connections with it. The scheme is organised and funded by the Broad Street Business Improvement District.
The Walk of Stars honours residents of the city who have made a significant contribution to the arts sector, in music, television, film, theatre, sport, business and literacy.
The criteria for a person to have their star added to the walk include that they must have performed at one of Birmingham's major venues such as the International Convention Centre (ICC), National Indoor Arena (NIA), Symphony Hall and The Rep theatre. They must also be originally from the area or have prominent links with Birmingham and the Midlands region.
The idea for a Walk of Fame style tribute was first thought of by a local Birmingham man Garry Raybould, who then approached the Broad Street Business Improvement District who developed the idea and created the name Broad Street Walk of Stars together with a brand and registration of the original website, www.walkofstars.co.uk which quickly became very popular and was chosen by Radio 2 as 'Website of the Day'. The first star to be honoured was Ozzy Osbourne on 6 July 2007. The event was held in Centenary Square and introduced by Elliott Webb from Birmingham's commercial radio station BRMB and the star was presented to Ozzy by Lord Mayor of Birmingham Randal Brew. [1] The Ozzy Osbourne presentation created £1.7M worth of worldwide publicity for the area.[ citation needed ]
Comedian Jasper Carrott was the second person to have a star installed on Broad Street on 15 September 2007. The star was presented to him by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham during ArtsFest in front of a 10,000 strong crowd. [2] In December 2007, Noddy Holder became the third inductee on the Walk of Stars which was presented to him on a canal boat, during the Broad Street Christmas Canal Boat Light Parade.
The stars were briefly fenced off following safety concerns about their polished surfaces. Leicestershire-based Charcon Specialist Products, who produced the stars, was consulted over the situation. [3]
Murray Walker was inducted into the Walk of Stars. A joint induction took place on 12 September 2008 for BBC Radio 4 series The Archers and cast member Norman Painting. On 7 October 2008, the BBC announced that Julie Walters would be inducted. [4] The following month founder member of Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi was inducted.
On 26 March 2009, it was announced that each of five local football clubs (Aston Villa, [5] Birmingham City, Walsall, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers) would have a star commemorating their teams, a player, or a specific era. The presentation ceremonies will be staggered between May and August. [6]
There used to be a Walk of Stars website listing other potential nominees on which the public are invited to vote. But this no longer exists. These include:
Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with their first three albums Black Sabbath, Paranoid, and Master of Reality (1971). Following Osbourne's departure in 1979, the band underwent multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history.
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have played at their home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in England, having won the Football League First Division seven times, the FA Cup seven times, the League Cup five times, and the European Cup and European Super Cup once.
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English musician and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname "Prince of Darkness".
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on The Osbournes (2002–2005), a reality television show that aired on MTV, which followed her family's daily life. Osbourne later became a judge on television talent competition shows, including The X Factor and America's Got Talent (2007–2012).
Dame Julia Mary Walters, known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award.
Broad Street is a major thoroughfare and popular nightspot centre in Central Birmingham, England. Traditionally, Broad Street was considered to be outside Birmingham City Centre, but as the city centre expanded with the removal of the Inner Ring Road, Broad Street has been incorporated into the new Westside district of the city centre due to its position within the A4540 road.
Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler is a retired English musician, best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell, GZR, Ozzy Osbourne, and Deadland Ritual.
Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Birmingham City Centre.
The Rum Runner was a nightclub on Broad Street, Birmingham. The club operated from 1964 until its demolition in 1987.
Robert Norman Davis, best known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. He starred in the sitcoms The Detectives and All About Me, and presented the game show Golden Balls.
Sir Herbert Douglas Ellis, was an English entrepreneur. He was the chairman of Aston Villa Football Club from 1968 to 1975, and again from 1982 until 2006. Ellis was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours List for charitable services.
Arthur Ian Lavender was an English stage, film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Private Pike in Dad's Army, a BBC sitcom set during World War II, of which he was the last surviving main cast member.
Tony Butler was a British sports broadcaster from Birmingham. He was one of the first stars of local radio in Britain, known for a distinctive local accent and sometimes controversial style.
Beverley Bevan is an English rock musician who was the drummer and one of the original members of the Move and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After the end of ELO in 1986, he founded ELO Part II.
Isaiah George Osbourne is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Barwell. He is a former England under-16 international who started his career with Aston Villa. Osbourne had loan spells with Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday before he was released by Villa in 2011. He then signed on a free transfer for Hibernian and made 30 appearances in the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League.
On 23 July 1983, English pop rock band Duran Duran staged an open air benefit concert at Villa Park, Birmingham, England in front of over 18,000 people who paid £8.50 a ticket to raise money for Mencap. It was one of only two concerts that summer by the band, the other being on 20 July before the Prince and Princess of Wales at London's Dominion Theatre.
Jhon Jader Durán Palacio is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Colombia national team.
Sir John Rawcliffe Airey Crabtree, is an English lawyer and businessman, a former High Sheriff of the West Midlands and current Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands. He is chair of the organising committee of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and holds or has held a number of business and charity directorships and chairs.
The opening ceremony for the 2022 Commonwealth Games took place on the evening of Thursday 28 July in the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham. As mandated by the Commonwealth Games Charter, the proceedings of the ceremony combined the formal opening of the sporting event with an artistic performance to showcase the host nation's culture. The 2022 Games were formally opened by Charles, Prince of Wales. The centrepiece of the ceremony was an eight-meter-tall animatronic bull, created by the London-based special effects company Artem. The bull, nicknamed 'Ozzy' after Birmingham-born rockstar Ozzy Osbourne is now on permanent display inside Birmingham New Street train station.
