The 10-metre-tall raging bull from the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony will remain in Birmingham city center until the end of September, the City Council has announced, as the public campaigns for find him a permanent home.
Since it was displayed in Centenary Square last week, people have flocked to see it and more than 8,000 people have signed a petition calling for it to stay after its creators announced it was to be dismantled after the Games.
Ian Ward, the leader of Birmingham City Council, said: ‘We regard this as one of the city’s main attractions, and seeing residents and visitors enjoying the bull in the city this week has been brilliant and builds the need to keep the bull for a long time.”
Talks are underway to determine where the bull could be permanently housed, but Games organizers have said a place inside will need to be found.
“We are happy that he is staying for a bit and it will also give us time to consider options for him to stay longer,” said Games Creative Director Martin Green.
“At the end of the day, it needs to be kept indoors as it’s reasonably high maintenance, so I’m sure we’ll have some good suggestions and pursue every possible avenue.”
Among the crowds admiring the bull this week was Barry Carter, 70, of Kingstanding.
“I’ve lived in Birmingham all my life and to see something like this is fantastic. I think it’s wonderful for the city,” he said. “It’s such an iconic piece. It should be somehow preserved, but whether it’s doable or not, I don’t know. It was so impressive during the opening ceremony.
He suggested the conference venue and Birmingham Millennium Point landmark as a potential home for the bull where it could be kept indoors.
Other suggestions have included the interior of New Street Station, the Birmingham Museum or the Bullring Shopping Centre, which is already guarded by Laurence Broderick’s bronze bull sculpture.
Helen Grindley, 46, had stopped to watch the bull after completing work in the town centre. “I don’t think they should scrap it, I think they should keep it. I think it’s amazing and could become a major tourist attraction for Birmingham,” she said.
“To see him in the flesh is completely different, it’s absolutely huge. I don’t know where they could keep him, but I hope they find a place to keep him.
It took more than 50 people five months to build the bull, which is made mostly of aluminum and must be transported by a 17-tonne forklift crane.
During the opening ceremony, he was dragged through the heavily armored stadium on chains by women representing the women chain makers of the Industrial Revolution.
The bull was widely hailed as the highlight of the show, although organizers were forced to apologize after using it to display the names of victims of the bombings in Birmingham pubs in 1974 without the consent of their families or explain the gesture to the public in the commentary.
Campaign group Justice For the 21 said it was “a shame no one bothered to inform us or explain to the public who the names belong to”, adding that it was “very emotional for us but missed by most”.
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