Ronnie James Dio To Be Honoured With Statue

Ronnie James Dio is to be honoured in Bulgaria - a statue of the Heaven & Hell star will be unveiled in a Kavarna park.

Town Mayor Tzonko Tzonev led the charge to pay tribute to Dio as a mark of respect to the rock star, who became one of Bulgaria's top concert draws - and was instrumental in campaigning for the liberation of a group of the nation's nurses imprisoned in Libya.

Rock news website Blabbermouth.net reports a replica of the monument was displayed during the three-day Kavarna Rock Fest in July. Sculptors Alexander Petrov and Krasimir Krastev-Lomsky have been commissioned to create Dio's likeness.

Dio was one of the first heavy rock icons to play Kavarna, and performed in Bulgaria five times. The rocker lost his battle with stomach cancer in May.