Ozzy Osbourne‘s family were today united in grief as they joined tens of thousands of tearful Black Sabbath fans at an emotional funeral procession in the late singer’s home city of Birmingham.

Family, friends and devoted fans have gathered for a parade through the city centre to pay their respects to the heavy metal icon who died aged 76 last week – two weeks after he performed for the final time at Villa Park.

Ozzy’s beloved widow, Sharon Osbourne, broke down in tears as she was overcome by the sea of flowers and tributes left for her late husband, whom she was married to for over four decades.

As she funeral cortege arrived at the iconic Black Sabbath Bridge, Sharon stepped out of the car and was flanked by their children, Jack and Kelly, who held her up as she burst into tears.

Following closely behind was the couple’s third child, their rarely seen daughter Aimee, and Ozzy’s son Louis from his first marriage to Thelma Riley.

But his daughter, Jessica, and adopted son, Elliot, whom he shared with Thelma did not appear to be in attendance, having also not been mentioned in the family’s touching statement announcing Ozzy’s death on July 23.

At Black Sabbath Bridge, Sharon and the family – which included all of Ozzy’s many grandchildren – laid flowers as the crowd chanted ‘Ozzy, Ozzy’. The Osbournes spent time looking at the heartbreaking tributes before raising their hands in a peace sign.

They spent around five minutes at the bridge before returning to the cars and moving on with the procession. Flowers were thrown onto the funeral cars as the cortege moved down Broad Street.

Huge crowds began gathering along the route hours in advance of the 1pm start, to pay their respects towards the singer whose songs included Paranoid and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

Thousands of people were pictured taking their places not only on Black Sabbath Bridge but along the city centre route along which his cortege would travel towards the Black Sabbath Bridge bench.

The hearse carrying the singer’s coffin passed the star’s childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, at about 12.45pm on its route into Birmingham city centre.

Flowers were placed outside the terraced property, close to Villa Park, since the singer’s death, while the owners of the house 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 watched by a handful of fans and the current owner of the house.

Fans have left heartfelt messages and floral tributes around the Black Sabbath mural on Navigation Street in recent days to honour the heavy metal star who was born in the Aston area of Birmingham.

Members of the public have also signed a book of condolences, opened by Birmingham Museum And Art Gallery, which is currently holding an exhibition titled Ozzy Osbourne (1948-2025): Working Class Hero.

While organising the procession, Birmingham City Council collaborated with the Osbourne family, who funded all of the associated costs.

One Black Sabbath fan gathering along Broad Street, giving the name of Goose, told today of discovering heavy metal as a teenager and feeling uplifted by Ozzy.

They said: ‘That’s when I found, like millions of people around the world, that there was music that was for us, something that understood us.

‘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.’

Fellow fan fan Evie Mayo said the heavy metal star had inspired her and everyone in Birmingham, as she waited by the Black Sabbath Bridge for his cortege to arrive.

She told the PA news agency: ‘I think he was so influential, he was such an inspirational person. I think he really impacted everyone here, especially in Birmingham as well.

‘Now that he’s not here any more, you can feel the impact of it. He inspired a lot of people and he was a great person.’

She added: “He inspired me by, I love his music, absolutely love his music. I’m learning guitar so that I can learn some of his songs.’

Birmingham-based musicians Alicia Gardener-Trejo and Aaron Diaz were also there, performing songs by Ozzy and Black Sabbath, with Alicia telling BBC News of being ‘super-excited’ to be involved amid today’s commemorations.

She said: ‘It’s a huge honour to be playing the music of Ozzy and Black Sabbath today. I’m a huge fan. I’m pretty speechless. Growing up, listening to Ozzy – it’s huge to be part of this.’

Aaron said: ‘Ozzy and Black Sabbath’s music really represents something about Birmingham – there’s grit there, there’s heaviness, but there’s also humour and there’s a sort of humility in it as well.’

Lee Clarke and his mother Tracey travelled 200 miles from Plymouth to get to Birmingham for today’s event, boarding a sleeper train overnight.

He told BBC Radio WM: ‘I decided long ago, when it happened I would go – thought we’d get more notice.

‘Its pretty hard to be a metalhead and not like Ozzy Osbourne – all the other music, the other bands, they wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for him.’

Tracey told of becoming a fan over the past decade due to her son’s influence and said of their arrival today to join the crowds: ‘It’s just feel the need to be here and show the family how loved Ozzy was.

‘I’m sure they know, but it’s just somewhere I felt I wanted to be today. He was an ordinary man – an extraordinary, ordinary man.’

Meanwhile, 10-year-old Eliza turned up bearing an umbrella with model bats attached, as well as a sign saying: ‘Goodnight Ozzy – Birmingham forever.’

Eliza, accompanied by her mother and grandmother, said: ‘Ozzy is a local lad, a boy from Aston, and he’s allowed kids like me to dream big – Ozzy is Birmingham.’

Her mother Claire Finn-O’Shea described Birmingham as ‘a city in mourning’, adding: ‘We love what Ozzy did for the city. We love that he stuck to his roots. I feel like we will get upset today when we see the coffin.

It feels like it’s a big deal, and it’s so generous of the family to bring him home to Birmingham – because for the fans to be involved, that’s a massive thing.’

Earlier, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham Zafar Iqbal 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.’

Broad Street has been closed to through traffic from 7am today, with buses and trams diverted before the road packed with bars reopens when the event finishes.

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.

They are expected to attend, while other reported celebrity guests at events to commemorate Ozzy include Sir Elton John.

The group, which formed in 1968, are 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 noughties 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.

Ozzy took to the stage for his farewell concert at Villa Park stadium in his native Birmingham less than three weeks before his death – reuniting with his original Black Sabbath bandmates for the first time since 2005.

More than 42,000 fans packed into the venue for the Back To The Beginning show, during which he told the crowd in his final speech: ‘You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart.’

A message on screen then read: ‘Thank you for everything, you guys are f***ing amazing. Birmingham Forever,’ before the sky lit up with fireworks.

He had told of it being his last performance due to his health, having opened up about his battle with Parkinson’s in 2020.

In a statement shared last Tuesday, Ozzy’s family said he died ‘surrounded by love’, adding: ‘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 is survived by his wife Sharon and his five children Jessica, Louis, Aimee, Kelly and Jack.

Daily Mail revealed last Wednesday that an air ambulance was called to Osbourne’s grand country home as paramedics battled to save his life for two hours.

Friends told the Mail’s Alison Boshoff that his heartbroken wife Sharon was considering now burying Ozzy in the gardens of the 350-acre estate in an intimate family funeral.

Ozzy was born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham in 1948, and dropped out of school at the age of 15.

After serving two months in prison for burglary, he decided to pursue his love of music.

By 1970, Black Sabbath – originally going by the name of Earth – had gained a huge following in the US and UK with the release of their first album.

Ozzy quit the band in 1978 and four years later divorced his first wife Thelma amid his ongoing substance abuse problems.

He went on to marry second wife Sharon, who helped him transform into a successful solo artist and the couple had three children together.

Ozzy gained a whole new audience of fans with the family’s reality TV show The Osbournes in 2001.

He spoke in 2011 about how he imagined his future send-off, telling the Times: ‘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.

‘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. It’s worth remembering that a lot of people see nothing but misery their whole lives.

‘So by any measure, most of us in this country – especially rock stars like me – are very lucky. That’s why I don’t want my funeral to be sad – I want it to be a time to say, “Thanks”.’