Birmingham museums chief puts out plea for 'angel investor' as Ozzy exhibition pulls in crowds
Sara, joint CEO of the trust that runs the Museum and Art Gallery, said more than 50,000 people had visited the city centre location in just two weeks - more than triple the number that would have attended in a typical fortnight pre-Covid.
In a post on LinkedIn, she revealed that now was the time to capitalise on the interest of so many visitors. "This (number was achieved) against a backdrop of national declining visitor levels in a city where dire public finances are crippling public services, in a museum that is still only half open and hasn't even been able to open all week round.
READ MORE: Sharon Osbourne makes incredible gesture to Birmingham so fans can continue paying tribute to Ozzy
"There is no clearer indication of the value and need for free civic museums and of how hard our teams are working to overcome these incredibly adverse conditions," she said.
The documentary series 'Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues' had shown how Birmingham City Football Club was turning fortunes around after being relegated, and what that means for its fans and the people of Birmingham - aided by the massive Knighthead investment, she said.
She wrote: "I don't know much about football but what I take from this story is that we are achieving similar (to the Blues) but without an angel investor.
"The time is now for a massive injection of cash into Birmingham Museums Trust. Our fate is not to be the plucky underdogs who were relegated.
"We are winners - the rest of the world just needs to catch on to this incredible investment opportunity for social returns before they miss the boat."
Read more: Moment Ozzy Osbourne tributes cleared from Black Sabbath Bench in Birmingham
The city's cultural gem, next to Birmingham City Council House, closed in 2020 for essential maintenance works but partially reopened in 2022 for the Commonwealth Games.
It then reopened in phases in 2024, with a number of spaces such as the Round Room Gallery welcoming members of the public for the first time in years. It relies largely on public funding and donations.
The Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero exhibition opened at the venue on June 25 to coincide with Black Sabbath's farewell concert at Villa Park on 5 July. Ozzy died two weeks later and his funeral cortege through the city drew another mass of fans into the centre.
Initially, the free exhibition was due to close on Sunday 28 September, but demand from the public has caused the museum to display the exhibition until Sunday 18 January, "to allow for more fans to see it" - with the generous backing of the Osbourne family.
Since the exhibition's opening, the museum has seen over 96,000 visitors through its doors.
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