Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Nashville International Airport announced Friday that they intend to name the airport in honor of Dolly Parton, moving toward a major tribute to the icon after an outpouring of public support for the beloved late country music legendâs legacy.
Lee said he spoke with Partonâs team about the proposal this week. Her team expressed appreciation for the support and is open to continuing the conversation, according to a joint announcement from the governor and the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.
The proposal would place Partonâs name on the gateway to Music City, connecting the transportation hub with a woman whose music, philanthropy and deeply rooted connection to her home state made her perhaps its most celebrated figure.
âDolly Partonâs extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state,â said Lee about the Tennessee native, who died Tuesday at 80 after a brief cancer battle. âFrom her rural mountain home in East Tennessee to global stages, Dolly carried the Volunteer Spirit with her.
âAt a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that Nashville International Airport would bear the name of our stateâs favorite daughter and greet travelers with the enduring legacy of Dollyâs music, generosity, faith, and kindness.â
The announcement comes amid a groundswell of support for renaming the airport after Parton. A Change.org petition titled âRename Nashville International Airport to Dolly Parton International Airportâ had accumulated 155,501 verified signatures, according to the petition page.
The petition was originally launched in January 2025 by Lydia Popovich and Dan Dion, who argued that Partonâs influence extended far beyond the music that made her famous, pointing to her philanthropy and her Imagination Library literacy program.
Following Partonâs death this week, the organizers said tens of thousands of additional supporters signed the petition and renewed their effort to have Nashvilleâs airport carry her name.
The campaign has also drawn support from Tennessee officials. State Rep. Todd Warner said in a response published on the petition page that he would introduce legislation supporting the change.
âYes I will definitely introduce legislation to rename the BNA airport Dolly Parton International Airport! Thanks, TW,â Warner wrote, according to the response reproduced by Change.org.
Nashville Council member Russ Bradford also said he would sponsor a resolution asking the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority to consider the change, while stressing that the authority, rather than the council, has the ultimate say over the airportâs name.
âIâm proud to sponsor a resolution asking the Metro Nashville Airport Authority to consider renaming BNA to Dolly Parton International Airport,â Bradford said in a response published by Change.org.
The tribute carries particular resonance because Parton had previously resisted efforts to put her own legacy on a pedestal.
In 2021, Parton asked Tennessee lawmakers to withdraw a bill that would have allowed a statue of her to be erected on the grounds of the state Capitol.
âI am honored and humbled by their intention, but I have asked the leaders of the state legislature to remove the bill from any and all consideration,â Parton said at the time in a post shared to social media.
She explained that she did not believe such an honor was appropriate while the country was confronting larger challenges, but left open the possibility that Tennessee might honor her in that way someday.
âGiven all that is going on in the world, I donât think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time,â Parton said. âI hope, though, that somewhere down the road several years from now or perhaps after Iâm gone if you still feel I deserve it, then Iâm certain I will stand proud in our great State Capitol as a grateful Tennessean.â
The proposal to rename the airport will be discussed at the Metro Nashville Airport Authorityâs next meeting on Sept. 17, according to their release.
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