Sharon Osbourne broke down in tears as fans filled the streets of Birmingham to pay tribute to her late husband, Ozzy Osbourne, during a public funeral procession.
The Black Sabbath frontman, who passed away last Tuesday aged 76, was honoured with a moving send-off through his hometown on Wednesday.
Sharon, 72, was joined by their children Aimee, Jack and Kelly as they walked behind the hearse, which paused at key landmarks from Ozzy’s life, including his childhood home on Lodge Road in Aston.
Crowds erupted into chants of "Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy! Oi! Oi! Oi!" as the cortege passed by, with a brass band performing Black Sabbath’s Iron Man in tribute.
Outside the singer’s former terraced house, floral tributes were laid beneath a photo of Ozzy placed in the front window by the current residents.
The family stepped out to pay their respects, with Sharon seen making peace signs to the crowd and hugging the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal, in an emotional moment at the Black Sabbath bench on Broad Street.
Ozzy’s grandchildren also laid flowers at the memorial, adding to the sea of tributes that had gathered at the site.
The hearse, a Jaguar accompanied by six black Mercedes cars and a police escort, moved slowly through the streets, giving fans a final chance to say goodbye.
Each family member carried a pink flower wrapped in black paper that they laid on top of the many other floral tributes that sat next to a poster of the star that said: “Birmingham will always love you”.
The hearse carrying Ozzy’s coffin passed the star’s childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, at about 12.45pm on Wednesday on its route into Birmingham city centre.
Flowers have been placed outside the terraced property, close to Villa Park, while the owners of the house have put up a picture of Osbourne in the front bay window.
The Jaguar hearse and six Mercedes funeral cars, accompanied by police motorcycle riders and a police car, drove slowly along the street on Lodge Road, watched by a handful of fans and the current owner of the house.
The hearse, adorned with purple flowers spelling out “Ozzy”, then made its way down Broad Street before stopping at the Black Sabbath bench, where thousands of tributes, balloons and flowers have been left.
Musicians from Bostin Brass played Black Sabbath songs to accompany the cortege, and fans threw flowers at the hearse while it slowly passed through the city.
Fans also left tributes outside a mural on Navigation Street, which was created ahead of the Back to the Beginning concert at Villa Park, which took place a few weeks ago.
One Osbourne fan, called Goose, told the PA news agency that Osbourne “was a family member” and said they discovered heavy metal as a teenager.
“That’s when I found, like millions of people around the world, that there was music that was for us, something that understood us,” they said.
“We knew that there was somebody out there that felt the way that we did and it was a constant presence.
“Ozzy helped give that to the world. He was a family member. He felt like a family member to so many people and he touched so many people’s lives.”
Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates – Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward – were recently given the freedom of the city of Birmingham, which recognises people’s exceptional service to the city.
The group, which formed in 1968, is widely credited with defining and popularising the sound of heavy metal.
Osbourne, who also had a successful solo career, found a new legion of fans when he appeared in the 2000s reality TV series The Osbournes, starring alongside his wife Sharon and two youngest children, Kelly and Jack.
The music star, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, performed his last gig on July 5 in a concert that also saw performances from the likes of Anthrax, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses.
Osbourne died just over two weeks after Black Sabbath were reunited barely two miles from where they first played together more than 50 years ago.
