Walking with the Stars in Birmingham

The simple joy of finding a star on the ground with the name of your favourite celebrity on it. Many won’t understand what makes them such a craze, but the truth of the matter is that they are enough to get some people, down on all fours, posing, smiling, and taking selfies.

It’s not uncommon to celebrate famous individuals and “stars” are a very public way to do that, more so because it can be enjoyed by the common person with ease. Statues and busts in public places are another way to celebrate fame, and as is the case with the Chaplin statue in Vevey, over time they tend to become a tourist attraction – a free one at that.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is probably the most recognized and celebrated of the various star walks with getting a “star” – along with a hand and foot print – on it is a huge endorsement and matter of privilege for any celebrity.

But, did you know there was a Walk of Stars in Birmingham, UK?

It might not be as grand as the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the USA or even the Avenue of Star in Hong Kong, but nevertheless this little tribute to the local artists is something that should be acknowledged and celebrated.

You won’t find tourists or locals getting down on their knees to take photos with the “stars”, and thus, if you are not aware of it – say, you didn’t read my blog before visiting Birmingham – there’s a good chance you will miss out on it completely. The stars are placed in a rather nonchalant manner on both sides of a street – Broad Street – which is situated in a busy financial and entertainment zone.

This little initiative from the Broad Street businesses pays homage to the various “celebrities”, mostly from the fields of TV, Cinema, Sports, Music, and other such arts, who have strong linkage to Birmingham or the surrounding areas, and those who have made prominent contributions in their respective fields.

The first in the series of the stars than can be found along the length of Broad Street at different locations, was presented to Ozzy Osbourne on 6^th July 2007.

Since then there have been 27 more stars that have been added including influencers like Chris Tarrant, Beverly Knight, Julie Walters, Frank Skinner, Noddy Holder, Jasper Carrot and the likes. 

Since the stars are placed without any real order and are not numbered, it does make for a nice trip as you walk along Broad Street to try and find your favourite local artists.

On the other hand, without any guide, one can miss out on a number of these. So if you plan to walk the Broad Street Walk of Stars, pay a little visit to their official page and jot down their location and find out about all the celebrities that have been mentioned so far.

Another reason why the Walk of Stars is not as popular as its counterparts is that it features local artists and thus overseas tourists might not be aware of most of them.

There have been instances when I’ve caught individuals looking at the stars in a state of wonderment and/or confusion as they try and figure out who the person is and why is his/her name planted on the street. Hopefully, they get curious enough to go home and check up on the names.

Nevertheless, the Walk of Stars remains a well appreciated initiative that does make a first timer, like me, stop and look, maybe even smile and take a photo of the star. And I can always go back and say that in Birmingham, I got to Walk with the Stars.