New York City names 20 January as David Bowie Day

New York City has officially declared 20 January 2016 as David Bowie Day after the late rock icon. The British musician had made the city his home for the past 20 years.

Bowie's Facebook page posted the news saying "New York's in love...".

Acting Commissioner Luis Castro of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment presented the proclamation on behalf of City Mayor Bill de Blasio at Wednesday's final performance of Lazarus, the Off-Broadway musical that Bowie co-wrote and co-produced.

Bowie, who died on 10 January following an 18-month battle with cancer, had made New York his adopted home and the Mayor's Office felt it was befitting to honour the singer with his very own day. "Among the most influential and talented artistes of our time, Bowie's music, his art, his unique creative vision have left a mark on the lives of generations of fans," Castro said prior to the proclamation.

Mayor De Blasio quoted Bowie's Space Oddity lyrics "the stars look very different today" on the David Bowie Day proclamation, which was posted on Twitter by the Mayor's Office.

Earlier, Belgian astronomers had given Bowie his own constellation, something which turned out to be an astronomical bogus. According to the International Astronomical Union, the constellation in question cannot exist and is actually an asterism — a pattern of stars not related to known constellations.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel had previously declared 23 September 2014 as David Bowie Day.