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Many stars and “non-stars” have managed to have their names placed on these 5-pointed terrazzo and brass embedded stars on the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California. These stars are supposed to represent personal achievements of people, groups, and even fictional characters related to the entertainment industry. The site referred to as Hollywood Walk of Fame is quite popular among tourists with estimated annual visitors of 10 million.
The Walk has about 2,484 occupied stars as of November 2012. On closer inspection of the stars, an emblem would represent in which category the artists belongs to. There are five categories namely Motion Pictures, Broadcast Television, Audio Recording, Broadcast Radio, and Theatre/Live Performance which was the latest category added in 1984. Special stars are also found in the Walk consisting of entities, organizations, and special honorees that have made significant contributions.
Not all known celebrities have their stars on the Walk. The process of having a star on the Walk starts with a nomination, so unless someone or an entity nominates a personality, there will be no stars forthcoming. The nomination also has to be accepted by the nominee including the commitment to be present during the unveiling of the star.
There are however some concerns in relation to whether some stars are in fact deserving to be included, but then that is how show business is. Every opportunity can be used to promote a star and the Hollywood Walk of Fame has apparently not been spared from it.
It is possible for a personality to have more than one star. The Walk is supposed to be an Entertainment Hall of Fame. So far it looks more like a tourist attraction