Commonwealth Games: Raging Bull the focus of angry relatives of bombing victims

It stole the show during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, but the hefty Raging Bull is now the focus of angry relatives of Birmingham bombing victims.

They are furious not only that no one has informed them of the decision to write the names of the victims of the 1974 Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town bombings on the headgear, but also of the remarkable inattention to to tell someone.

Television stations seemingly had no idea who the 21 names were, a missed opportunity to raise awareness about an ongoing fight for justice as more than a billion viewers listened to the opening ceremony at Alexander Stadium on Friday morning (NZT).

IRA terrorists killed 21 and injured 182 others in the attack, and the Justice4the21 The group’s hunger for justice continues after the wrongly convicted “Birmingham Six” was released in 1991. Since then, no one has been charged.

Media attending the recently revamped Alexander Stadium received a nearly 3,500-word document, apparently packed with all the details needed to understand the ceremony, produced by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

The Raging Bull received ample coverage in the guidebook, including a list of facts about the behemoth, which has now been relocated to Birmingham’s Centenary Square.

They include that it was 10 meters high to the tip of its horns, and that 50 people spent more than five months building it.

But no mention was made of the 21 names the bull took for a ride in front of 32,000 people.

Campaigner Julie Hambleton, a member of Justice4the21, labeled it a “huge missed opportunity” to raise awareness, and was concerned that victims’ families were not being consulted.

After attending the ceremony, unaware at the time that the victims, including her sister Maxine, were part of it, she told the Birmingham Mail it could have been a “fantastic” gesture well done, but instead felt that the victims and their families were being treated with contempt.

“Not only were we not invited, our loved ones were murdered, their names were used, and we weren’t even informed about it. What’s the point of putting 21 names there but not explaining who they are?

“They might as well have put Tom, Dick and Harry there, because everyone would have had the same question – ‘who are these people?'”

The headdress with the inscribed names is nowhere to be seen now that the bull has been moved to Birmingham city centre.

Locals have flocked to the bull, which organizers plan to dismantle after the Games, to see it up close and take pictures with it.

A Birmingham 2022 spokesperson said in a statement that the artistic intent behind the bull was to represent the city’s historic pain, as evidenced by the headgear.

“The creative team added these names to represent these stories in images seen by millions of people around the world. We wanted them to be remembered, recognized, and to spark discussion on important issues.”

Raging Bull’s fury is a blow to the organizers, who are eager to promote the Commonwealth Games as the “Friendly Games” at every opportunity.

Some Kiwis have certainly questioned that tag in the wake of triathlete Hayden WIlde’s controversial 10-second penalty, and Ellesse Andrews fined and ineligible for her silver medal – won in the women’s team pursuit – as she was preparing for another event.

Birmingham’s locals embrace the games for the most part, with over 1.3 million event tickets sold.

But there have been unavoidable complaints, including the exorbitant cost of concessions, highlighted by a fan who stinks after paying £9.80 (NZ$19.25) for a sloppy sausage and undercooked chips at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, where Dame Sophie Pascoe won her strict fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal on Saturday night.

At a time when railway workers across the UK are on strike for what they claim is unfair pay, the Games enforced massive road closures across the city have also annoyed locals.