Renamed airport tribute to Bestie

George Best was paid the ultimate accolade today when his home town airport was renamed in his honour.

On the day that would have been the soccer genius’s 60th birthday Belfast City Airport became the George Best Belfast City Airport.

Family, friends and fans were among more than 200 people who gathered for the ceremony outside the airport.

George’s instantly recognisable signature has been added to the front of the airport’s name in a tribute which his sister, Barbara McNarra said: “means everything to us.”

Mrs McNarra, speaking on behalf of the Best family said: “This is a very special day for us. We are delighted that the airport, situated close to the family home in East Belfast, will now act as a permanent memorial to honour George.”

She paid special thanks to the airport’s Spanish owners for giving the green light to the name change.

She said the momentous occasion was “a wonderful accolade to the best footballer the world has ever seen.”

Airport chief executive Brian Ambrose said the renaming would provide a lasting memory of Northern Ireland’s most famous footballer.

“Our decision to rename in honour of George Best has resulted in an unprecedented level of interest, with messages of support from across the world.”

He said when the airport first announced their intentions to honour the footballer every political party in Northern Ireland backed them – a sign of the universal love of a footballer who drew the Province together.

Mr Ambrose revealed that the airport will, within the coming months, erect a permanent fixture inside the terminal to enable the public to make donations to the George Best Foundation.

The Foundation is the charity established by the Best family with the aim of funding research into liver disease and promoting youth football.

Belfast Lord Mayor Wallace Browne said: “The renaming of the airport after the one and only George Best is a significant beginning towards ensuring that the spirit of the ’Belfast boy’ lives on for a long time in his home city.”

The City Council is still deciding on the development of its own memorial to the footballer.

He said: “It is right and fitting that Belfast’s greatest ever footballer should be given such key prominence at key locations in Belfast.

Soccer manager Martin O'Neill who played alongside Best in the Northern Ireland team of the early 70s paid tribute to the wayward genius insisting he had never wasted his talent but brightened peoples' lives for many years.

“He was an absolute genius,” said O’Neill who attended the ceremony with Northern Ireland former goalkeeper Pt Jennings, who used to share a room with George when they were on international duty.

Former World Champion boxer Chris Eubank also flew into Belfast to pay tribute to Best.

Best’s father Dickie formally unveiled the airport’s new name.

Unfortunately when he pointed his finger towards the screen which had sheltered the new name from public gaze over recent days nothing happened.

Workmen had tied it down so tightly against strong winds that it took more than 15 minutes to cut the screening free and show off the new name.

Tonight a special tribute gala dinner will be held in Belfast City Hall to raise money for the George Best Foundation.

Four hundred guests – including Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and members of the club’s 1968 European Cup winning side – will pay tribute to the legend.

At the weekend, hundreds of people took part in a celebration of the life of George Best in the Cregagh Estate in East Belfast where George Best grew up.

The highlight was the unveiling of a mural depicting a youthful Best, replacing a paramilitary image, overlooking the fields where he honed his soccer skills as a young boy.