Fans on Broad Street share what Ozzy Osbourne meant to them as Birmingham hosts a public procession in his honour. The Black Sabbath bench becomes a focal point for tributes, while the city navigates crowd control, pride, and cultural memory.
00:00This was never going to be a quiet goodbye, not for someone who helped define the sound of a city.
00:06Broad Street didn't just see a crowd, it saw a statement.
00:09For all the fame and chaos, Aussie stayed Birmingham.
00:12There was no stage, no speeches, just a slow-moving cortegee, a brass band,
00:17and the kind of silence that says more than applause ever could.
00:21The bench, once a marker of legacy, became a gathering point for something raw and communal.
00:26This wasn't nostalgia, it was recognition that someone who started in back streets carved out something lasting,
00:33and now the city gave something back.
00:36He's one of our own at the end of the day.
00:37Not only that, he's helped invent a genre of music so strong that it's inspired people all over the world, not just this country.
00:45And to see one of the pioneers of that just gone in seconds, it's heartbreaking.
00:50He did an awful lot of music, completely changed the genre, and at the time it was completely new,
00:57but also, I think, around the world he put Birmingham on the map.
01:00Aussie, the creator of metal, so he's the godfather of rock.
01:04We'd hate Aussie, Sabbath, this wouldn't happen.
01:08He puts a smile on everybody's face every time anybody listens to him.
01:12He's changed people's lives in many ways.
01:15He's got people out of places, dark places, and my daughter loves him.
01:19I'll put him on and she's there, she's mops soon, she's only 18 months old, and it's good enough for me.
01:26For something arranged in days, it struck a tone, few cities get right.
01:30Broad Street was cleared, trams paused, buzzes rerouted, yet it all moved with quiet order.
01:37This wasn't carnival, it was choreography, with purpose.
01:40No bluster, just coordination that gave space to something sacred.
01:44The local brass band wasn't filler, it was a choice that meant something.
01:48This wasn't Birmingham selling itself, it was Birmingham doing what it does best, showing up, holding firm, and marking the moment without noise.
01:56The result wasn't just managed, it was dignified.
01:59I think the planning's gone down very, very well, and the presence is immaculate.
02:05The entire metal scene of this, not just this city, people from all over the world have been coming down to place down flowers for Ozzy.
02:11I know I've done it a couple times, and it's been amazing, mate, honestly.
02:16I hope they do more, like, in the future, for example, changing the name to the airport, or I would like a museum just for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.
02:25I think they deserve it, because they are a part that is very important for UK, and especially for Birmingham.
02:31But yeah, very good, actually.
02:32So, I'm not from Birmingham, I've travelled in today, but it seems really, really streamlined, everything seems good.
02:38But they planned it well at the final gig a couple of weeks ago, everything seemed to be in place.
02:43And again, today it seems like they've done it really well, it's better than most events I've been to that, you know, other people have organised.
02:50Everything's fenced out, everybody knew where to go, and the crowd seems really good and happy, so yeah, it's well policed as well.
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