Ozzy Osbourne fans have a chance to pay their respects to the BLACK SABBATH legend as his funeral cortège travels through his original hometown of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Osbourne‘s body was brought back to the city for a procession that is traveling along Broad Street from 1 p.m. local time (5:00 a.m. PDT / 8:00 a.m. EDT).
The event, which takes place ahead of a private funeral, also give his family the opportunity to see the flowers, tributes and other memories his fans have left around the city.
Watch the funeral procession live from several media outlets — including The Independent, CNBC, Sky News and Associated Press — below.
The hearse and accompanying vehicles are slowly making their way down Broad Street to the Black Sabbath Bridge and bench, where thousands of fans have left heartfelt messages and floral tributes in recent days. The cortège is being accompanied by a live brass band performance by local musicians from Bostin’ Brass, bringing a final musical moment to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Ozzy Osbourne.
The event has drawn large crowds as fans gather to say goodbye to the man who helped shape the global heavy metal genre and who proudly carried the spirit of Birmingham throughout his career.
Ozzy and his fellow BLACK SABBATH bandmembers Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward were recently given the Freedom of the City on June 28.
Zafar Iqbal, Birmingham’s lord mayor, an honorary position, said: “Ozzy was more than a music legend — he was a son of Birmingham. Having recently been awarded the Freedom Of The City and following his celebrated appearance at the ‘Back To The Beginning’ concert at Villa Park earlier this month, it was important to the city that we support a fitting, dignified tribute ahead of a private family funeral. We know how much this moment will mean to his fans. We’re proud to host it here with his loving family in the place where it all began, and we are grateful that they have generously offered to pay to enable this to happen and support the city is giving him the farewell he deserves.”
Birmingham City Council has worked at pace with its partners over the weekend to coordinate a respectful and safe public event in collaboration with the Osbourne family, who have kindly funded all of the associated costs.
There is also a book of condolence for public messages at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, alongside the “Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero” exhibition, highlighting his solo career achievements.
The procession will be held ahead of a private funeral, the details of which have not yet been revealed.
In a “Dear Ozzy” column for The Times Of London in 2011, Ozzy was asked if he had any thoughts on his memorial. He responded: “I honestly don’t care what they play at my funeral; they can put on a medley of Justin Bieber, Susan Boyle and ‘We Are the Diddymen’ if it makes ’em happy,” he said at the time. “But I do want to make sure it’s a celebration, not a mope-fest. I’d also like some pranks: maybe the sound of knocking inside the coffin; or a video of me asking my doctor for a second opinion on his diagnosis of ‘death.’ There’ll be no harping on the bad times.”
Ozzy died the morning of July 22, his family announced in a statement.
“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time,” the family said.
No cause of death was given, but Osbourne had battled a number of health issues over the past several years, including Parkinson’s disease and injuries he sustained from a late-night fall in 2019.
Ozzy‘s death came a little more than two weeks after he took the stage for his final performance with BLACK SABBATH at Villa Park in the band’s original hometown of Birmingham, United Kingdom. They performed four songs for more than 40,000 people in the stadium and 5.8 million more on a livestream. Ozzy also played a five-song solo set while seated in a bat-adorned throne.
Formed in Birmingham in 1968, BLACK SABBATH is widely recognized as one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time, with a career spanning decades and over 75 million albums sold worldwide. Their impact on the genre remains as significant today as it was in the early 1970s, with their music shaping generations of metal musicians.
Ozzy‘s family reality television show “The Osbournes” won a 2002 Primetime Emmy.
In 2006, Osbourne and the other members of the original BLACK SABBATH were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Ozzy was also inducted into the Rock Hall as a solo artist in 2024.
Osbourne won several Grammys, including one in 1993 for his solo song “I Don’t Want To Change The World”.
Ozzy and his wife and manager Sharon started their annual tour — Ozzfest — in 1996 after he was rejected from the lineup of what at the time was the top touring music festival, Lollapalooza. The first traveling version of Ozzfest in 1997 included MARILYN MANSON and PANTERA as part of the lineup.
Osbourne leaves behind his wife, three children from his first marriage (including an adopted son from his first wife’s previous relationship),and three with Sharon: Jack, Kelly and Aimee.