The city of Birmingham has announced a new holiday in remembrance of one of its favourite sons, singer Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away last year. The event will be a city-wide experience packed with entertainment, taking place next Wednesday, July 22, on what will be the first anniversary of Osbourne’s death.
The late, great Ozzy Osbourne was an icon of British music and culture, co-founding Black Sabbath in 1968, with whom he defined heavy metal, breaking out with a wildly-successful solo career in the ‘80s, before becoming a globally-renowned celebrity through his magnetic personality and his family’s MTV reality show The Osbournes. Last July, struggling with his Parkinson’s Disease, he called time on his incredible music career with one last home town show – the ‘Back To The Beginning’ concert at Birmingham’s Villa Park football stadium, which saw an all-star list of support acts open proceedings before Ozzy’s final sets with Sabbath and as a solo performer. Three weeks after the show, Osbourne passed away on July 22, aged 76.
Ozzy was laid to rest following a massive funeral procession through Birmingham, with thousands of grieving fans lining the streets. Since then, the city has paid tribute to him with an exhibition at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and awarded him a posthumous Lord Mayor’s Award, with him also receiving national plaudits including a BRIT Lifetime Achievement Award this February.
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Yesterday, Birmingham’s Central Business Improvement District (BID) and events group Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces (OPUS) announced the first ever ‘Ozzy Day’. The event will run in partnership with Birmingham City Council, Birmingham New Street and Westside BID. The announcement by the Central BID reads “Ozzy Osbourne fans will enjoy a free programme of live music, public art, special performances and shared moments celebrating the life, legacy and Birmingham roots of the Prince of Darkness.”
Among the list of attractions are pop-up performances of Ozzy’s music around the city by Bostin Brass, the brass band who played during the funeral procession, and a special lunchtime performance by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the Bullring shopping centre. Another spectacle will be Ozzy the Bull, the gigantic mechanical bull sculpture built to commemorate the city’s 2022 Commonwealth Games and named after Osbourne, “dressed up for the occasion” at his home in Birmingham New Street station.
OPUS have commissioned a series of short films following the people of Birmingham and the varied ways they’ve honoured Ozzy, while the Birmingham Music Archive will be at New Street to invite fans to share their stories and pay tribute to the man and his legacy. A commemorative limited-edition t-shirt has been produced to remember the occasion, featuring an image from ‘Back To The Beginning’, and will be on sale in Selfridges from July 22.
Speaking on the initiative, the Central BID’s Chair Sam Watson says “Ozzy Day is a fantastic example of Birmingham working together to celebrate the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. By bringing together businesses, cultural organisations and public spaces, we’re creating a city centre wide experience that encourages people to celebrate the legacy of a truly global, Birmingham-born icon.”
The inaugural Ozzy Day will take over Birmingham on July 22 – fans looking to keep up with the day can download a map here from the Central BID, or follow the tag ‘#OzzyDay’ on social media.
