Just over a week after his passing, details for the funeral for the godfather of heavy metal himself, Ozzy Osbourne, have been made public.
The proceedings will be livestreamed on the website for the Black Sabbath Bench. Viewing is free and only an email address is required.
At 1pm local time (8am EST), the procession will begin down Broad Street in Ozzy's native Birmingham, England. It will go onto the Black Sabbath Bridge and its commemorative bench, which has become something of a shrine and memorial in light of Osbourne's passing. The Bostin' Brass band will accompany the procession, with the expectation being that their music will balance the somber nature of the event, without compromising the energy and liveliness Ozzy himself always exhibited, even in his last days.
In a statement, Councillor Zafar Iqbal MBE, JA, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, had the following to say about his city's favorite son (transcription by Metal Injection):
"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. We are grateful that they have generously offered to pay to enable this to happen and support the city in giving him the farewell he deserves."
Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates were awarded the honor of Freedom of the City just days before the aforementioned "Back to the Beginning" show.
A handful of us here at Nu Metal Agenda penned our own tributes to Ozzy Osbourne, which you can read here. Our thoughts are with the Osbourne family during these difficult times.
