Music fans everywhere are still grieving the loss of their Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, originally the lead singer of Black Sabbath before becoming much, much more to his community.
Ozzy Osbourne ended his singing career in 2023, three years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. This year, knowing he was nearing the end of his life, Osbourne appeared and performed at his farewell show, Back to the Beginning, singing for the first time in two years.
Just two weeks after his farewell concert, Osbourne passed away at the age of 76, surrounded by family and friends.
Black Sabbath was formed in Birmingham, England, in 1968, and in 2019, the band was honored with a bridge named after them, the Black Sabbath Bridge, and a bench positioned below it with wooden, life-sized cutouts of the four bandmates staged around it.
Since Osbourne's death, fans have been visiting the bridge and building a memorial for him. From flowers to banners to artwork and more, the area quickly filled with tokens of love for the late Prince of Darkness.
To commemorate his death, a funeral processional moved through the city of Birmingham this week, with the Black Sabbath Bridge and fan-created memorial operating as the center stage.
The morning of the procession, fans went early to pay their respects to Osbourne, waiting behind boundary tape for the Osbourne family to later walk the procession path themselves.
Fans were deeply moved when Ozzy's wife, Sharon, and their three adult children, Jack, Aimee, and Kelly, walked through the procession and placed flowers at the memorial site among the fan contributions.
Fans from around the globe were touched by the memorial and the grieving Osbourne family.
The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal, also paid respects to Osbourne, visiting the memorial and saying:
"Ozzy was more than a music legend; he was a son of Birmingham."
"We know how much this moment will mean to his fans. We're proud to host [the memorial] here with his loving family in the place where it all began."
Osbourne, as the lead singer of Black Sabbath, solo singer, music enthusiast and advocate, and public figure, touched millions around the world throughout his lengthy career.
It's wonderful to see there's a dedicated place for fans to pay their respects, and also for the Osbourne family to be able to see how much Ozzy Osbourne meant to his community.
