Tears on Broad Street: Sharon Osbourne and Family Mourn Ozzy in Heartfelt Procession
Thousands lined Birmingham’s Broad Street as Sharon Osbourne and her children Kelly, Jack and Aimee publicly paid tribute to rock legend Ozzy Osbourne on Wednesday. The peace signs, purple blooms and quiet sobs marked an emotionally raw farewell for the Black Sabbath frontman, who died at 76 surrounded by family love, according to a statement from the Osbournes.
Celebrity Storm here with the exclusive scoop: this send-off was part vigil, part celebration, just as Ozzy had specified a decade ago in a The Times of London column. “I don’t care what they play at my funeral,” he joked in 2011, “just make it a celebration, not a mope-fest.” And so it was. Organizers at Birmingham City Council designed a route along the city’s iconic Broad Street, drawing die-hard fans three and four deep along the sidewalks.
Sharon, 72, clasped Ozzy’s original wedding band on a chain at her throat as she placed clusters of purple flowers at an impromptu memorial site. She hugged eldest daughter Kelly, 40, who wiped tears before embracing fiancé Sid Wilson and their two-year-old son Sidney. Son Jack, 38, gripped his mother’s hand amid his own tears. Daughter Aimee, largely absent from family reality TV, emerged from the shadows for this solemn moment. Son Louis Riley, 50, born to Ozzy’s first wife Thelma Riley, stood nearby in solidarity.
Sources at the New York Post and BBC News confirm that Ozzy’s Black Sabbath bandmates Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward joined the procession, along with music stars rumored to include Elton John and Yungblud. The family asked for privacy, but this was a public love letter to the Prince of Darkness. Notes, handwritten letters and small gifts from fans carpeted the memorial board.
Just two weeks before his passing, Ozzy managed a final Black Sabbath reunion show at Villa Park to 42,000 fans, powering through classics like “Crazy Train,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.” A visibly frail Ozzy paused mid-set to tell the crowd, “You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
That voice echoed through Birmingham’s streets on Wednesday. Sharon’s decision to wear his ring, and the children’s raw grief, underscored the family’s loss—and the public’s devotion. Ozzy insisted on pranks at his ceremony: perhaps the sound of knocks from his coffin or a cheeky video clip. Whether those lighter moments made the cut remains under wraps.
What happens next? Keep your eyes on the official memorial unfolding at Birmingham Town Hall, where further tributes and surprise guests may appear. This was only the beginning of Ozzy’s grand rock-star exit.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, BBC News, The Times of London
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
