Have you ever seen an outpouring of grief and celebration in Birmingham like the one for Ozzy Osbourne? If you need a further sign of what he meant to this city, he will be posthumously presented with the Lord Mayor’s Award on his birthday (Wednesday, December 3).
The Lord Mayor’s Award is one of Birmingham’s highest civic honours and celebrates individuals and groups’ outstanding achievement or exceptional service to the City and people of Birmingham. The award acknowledges Ozzy’s impact on the city’s cultural and musical identity.
The award will be accepted on his behalf by members of the Osbourne family in a private ceremony, where The Lord Mayor, Councillor Zafar Iqbal MBE, will also present Books of Condolence—which had been open at his Working Class Hero exhibit, and has seen almost 400,000 visitors since July.
The Osbourne family commented: “We are deeply touched to receive this award in honour of Ozzy. He was so loved by the people of Birmingham so it is great to come back and see the impact he has had in his hometown and how he continues to inspire generations of Brummies’ and fans across the world. I would like to thank the Lord Mayor for this special recognition.”
Born and raised in Aston, Ozzy sold over 100 million records worldwide as a solo artist and as part of Black Sabbath—and he is one of only 27 artists in history inducted into the famous Rock n Roll Hall of Fame twice. In his 56-year career, he won five Grammys and became the face of Birmingham, a city he loved his whole life.
In July, Ozzy was honoured with the Freedom of the City of Birmingham alongside the original band members of Black Sabbath ahead of their farewell Back to the Beginning concert—raising £140 million for local charities. He passed away shortly after, on July 5, 2025, aged 76.
The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zafar Iqbal MBE said: “Ozzy was and always will be a proud and much missed son of Birmingham. Having achieved worldwide success, he never forgot his Brummie roots, so I am honoured to present the award to his family in a fitting tribute of everything he has done for our city. Ozzy forever!”