The procession made its way down Birmingham’s Broad Street in the center of the city to a canal bridge named in honor of Black Sabbath. The bridge features a bench with life-size cutouts of the band’s four founding members \u2014 Osbourne, Terry “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward. <\/p>\n
An emotional Sharon Osbourne, the musician’s widow, stopped at the site and laid flowers at the growing memorial around the bench as fans watched from behind barriers. She was accompanied by the couple’s two youngest children, Kelly and Jack, who starred with their parents in the reality show “The Osbournes,” which aired in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
The Lord Mayor of Birmingham Zafar Iqbal also visited the site on Wednesday. In a statement Tuesday, Iqbal\u00a0said<\/a>, “Ozzy was more than a music legend \u2014 he was a son of Birmingham.”<\/p>\n Sharon Osbourne lays flowers as she and family members view messages and floral tributes left at the Black Sabbath Bridge bench on Broad Street in Birmingham, England, in memory of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, July 30, 2025.<\/p>\n Jacob King\/PA Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n Crowds of fans turned out ahead of the procession to pay tribute to the singer known as the Prince of Darkness and reflect on the role he and his family played in their lives.<\/p>\n Graham Croucher, a 58-year-old train driver from Northampton, told the Reuters news agency that Osbourne played the soundtrack to his life.<\/p>\n “He dared to be different because he was different,” Croucher said. “And I think we’re celebrating that as well because he was different. And I think we can all see so much of ourselves in Ozzy, but he could do it. He could get away with it.”<\/p>\n Amanda Summers, a 37-year-old singer from Bolton, said she was feeling emotional but glad to be with other people who adored Osbourne and wanted to show support for the family.<\/p>\n “Been a Black Sabbath fan for a long time, watched ‘The Osbournes’ on the TV, so we’ve grown up with these being in our homes, so they’re like our family, you know?” she told Reuters.<\/p>\n Mourners and music fans line the streets to pay their respects as the funeral cortege of Ozzy Osbourne, the late lead singer of Black Sabbath, makes its way through Birmingham, England, July 30, 2025.<\/p>\n Ben Stansall\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Darren Verdi-Ashton, a 56-year-old businessman from Birmingham, said Osbourne’s death was still a big shock.<\/p>\n “I don’t know what will happen when he arrives, but I think I probably will lose it,” he told Reuters.<\/p>\n Since Osbourne’s death, fans have been flocking to the Black Sabbath Bridge and bench, leaving flowers, pictures and notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Final Stop On The Crazy Train?” a handwritten message said on an Aston Villa soccer team shirt that was tied to the bridge last week, referring to the single “Crazy Train” from Osbourne’s debut solo album in 1980. The message added: “But Metal Lives Forever.”<\/p>\n After Osbourne’s death, “Crazy Train” was streamed and played on the radio so much that the song made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart<\/a> for the first time, ranking at No. 46 on its most recent edition.<\/p>\n A tribute is seen on the Black Sabbath Bridge in Birmingham, England, July 24, 2025, in memory of Ozzy Osbourne.<\/p>\n Ioannis Alexopoulos\/Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n Fans who couldn’t make it to Birmingham to honor Osbourne were invited to watch a livestream<\/a> of the bench and bridge.<\/p>\n Iqbal said it was important for the city to have a “fitting, dignified tribute” to the legendary rocker before the private family funeral.<\/p>\n “We know how much this moment will mean to his fans,” he said. “We’re proud to host it here with his loving family in the place where it all began.”<\/p>\n Floral tributes are left on the Black Sabbath Bridge bench July 28, 2025, on Broad Street in Birmingham, England, following the death of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne.<\/p>\n Jacob King\/PA Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n Osbourne retired from touring<\/a> in 2023, three years after revealing that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease<\/a>, a degenerative movement disorder.<\/p>\n His death came less than three weeks after he appeared onstage for the final time, reuniting with his Black Sabbath bandmates in a Birmingham concert that featured performances from rock legends influenced by the band.<\/p>\n “You have no idea how I feel,” Osbourne told the crowd of over 40,000 fans that night, according to BBC News<\/a>. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”<\/p>\n Ozzy Osbourne speaks with reporters during a news conference at his home in Beverly Hills, California, Feb. 18, 2003.<\/p>\n Reuters\/Jim Ruymen<\/p>\n The Associated Press<\/p>\n contributed to this report.\n <\/p>\n![\"Sharon](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/gettyimages-2227020822.jpg#.jpeg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Ozzy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-07-22t182106z-1838226458-rc2urfah8te5-rtrmadp-3-people-ozzy-osbourne.jpg#.jpeg\")
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