Fans and relatives of the late Ozzy Osbourne converged to pay their final respects to metal star in his home city.
Tens of thousands of fans converged Wednesday on Birmingham, England, the home city of metal star Ozzy Osbourne, to pay their final respects to a musician who helped change the sound of rock and roll into something heavier and darker, before dying earlier this month.
The Black Sabbath singer’s coffin was driven along Broad Street in the city center, a route that saw the cortege pause at a bridge named after the band he helped found nearly six decades ago.
Birmingham’s Black Sabbath Bridge has become a significant landmark for his admirers, and in the days since his death has also served as a focal point for tributes. Osbourne’s family, including his visibly emotional wife Sharon, stopped at the spot during the funeral procession and spent several minutes observing the sea of flowers and messages fans had left, before adding their own bouquets to the memorial. Sharon, in tears, added her own pink rose to the growing pile.
Together with some of Ozzy’s children and many grandchildren, they also acknowledged the crowd of well-wishers with waves, while many fans lowered their cellphones and held their hands aloft with the two-finger peace sign that the heavy metal performer himself had used so often onstage.
