Those watching the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games will no doubt be touched and moved by the segment featuring the Birmingham Bulls.
In a ceremony hosted by Steven Knight, the Bulls were brought into the stadium by underpaid and overworked industrial revolution female chain makers trapped in their own circumstances as they produced slave-trade-related human bonds. The women were freed by the minimum wage strike of 1910. The bull itself is free with its enormous size. The heroine of the opening ceremony, Stella, calms him down, giving him love and light.
The emotional part ends with the bull finally moving towards mutual tolerance after being provoked again and crying in pain. But why are the Bulls so important to Birmingham?
The bull signifies the Bull Ring shopping center in Birmingham, which itself takes its name from its history of bullying and slaughter.
Around 1160, a charter granted Peter de Bermingham, Lord of Bermingham, permission to hold weekly fairs on his moat estate, where he levied taxes on goods and produce sold. It’s on the current bullring website. Originally referred to as “cheap corn” in the corn market, the bull market refers to the greens in the market.
The “ring” portion of the site’s current name refers to an iron hoop to which bulls are tied as bait before slaughter.
Bear trapping became a popular “sport” in the 16th century. It involves spectators in a bullring watching a dog attack an unarmed bull, which some people mistakenly believe will tenderize the meat.
Bullbaiting ceased at the bullring in 1798 when the bullring moved to Handsworth, but the site retained its now-famous name.
Demolition began in 1964 until 2000, and the first Bull Ring Mall stood on the site for 36 years. The much talked about concrete building from the 1960s is rapidly aging. In its place was a new iconic mall, and when it opened in 2003, the Bullring name was finalized.
Post time: Aug-24-2022