Thousands of metal fans from across the world gathered today, July 30, in Birmingham, England to say an emotional farewell to hometown hero, national treasure and global icon Ozzy Osbourne.
Black Sabbath fans and followers of Osbourne's solo career lined Birmingham's Broad Street from early morning today, July 30, after the Osbourne family revealed that the singer's funeral procession would make a stop at the site of the Black Sabbath Bench and Bridge, where grieving fans have been leaving flowers, memorial cards and personal tributes to Osbourne since the news of his death broke on July 22.
The funeral cortege was given a police escort to the site shortly after 1pm, as hundreds of fans chanted Osbourne's name, with tens of thousands more world-wide watched a livestream of the procession.
The six police motorcycles were followed by the Bostin' Brass Band performing Black Sabbath classic Iron Man, from the quartet's second album, Paranoid, released in 1970.
There were emotional scenes as the singer's hearse, with purple flowers spelling out the word 'OZZY' flanking his coffin, stopped in front of the memorial. Tearful Osbourne family members - Ozzy's wife Sharon, son Jack, and daughters Aimee and Kelly, with her husband, Slipknot's Sid Wilson and the couple's infant son Sidney - stepped out of a black people carrier to acknowledge the crowd, lay flowers and read some of the tributes left for the much-missed 76-year-old singer.
As the grief-stricken family departed for a private funeral service at a church in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the assembled crowd, many of them in tears, chanted Ozzy's name once more.
Osbourne co-founded Black Sabbath in 1968 and made eight albums with the Godfathers of Metal before being dismissed in 1979, due to what was perceived by his bandmates to be excessive substance abuse.
With invaluable encouragement and assistance from his manager/wife Sharon, Osbourne then launched a hugely successful solo career, beginning with 1980's Blizzard Of Ozz album.
The singer returned to Sabbath from 1997 to 2006 and again from 2011 until their first retirement in 2017. He fronted the band’s final album, 2013’s 13, his first full-length studio album with the group in 35 years. His last solo album, Patient Number 9, was released in 2022.
Elton John, Metallica's James Hetfield, and rising star Yungblud (Dominic Harrison) are expected to be among the mourners saying a final farewell today to the world's most recognisable heavy metal superstar.
