Ozzy Osbourne procession: 20 pictures show fans lining Birmingham streets early to pay tribute to rock legend as he is laid to rest today
Pictures have shown a mass of tributes and tearful mourners as they prepare for Ozzy Osbourne's arrival.
Hundreds of Ozzy Osbourne fans have already gathered around the Broad Street area of Birmingham as his body is brought back to his home city for a procession.
Tributes of flowers, balloons, notes and memorabilia items have been left at the Black Sabbath bench on Broad Street, Birmingham, ahead of Ozzy Osbourne's funeral procession.
Ozzy Osbourne died at the age of 76 on Tuesday, July 22, only weeks after performing at Birmingham's Villa Park as part of Black Sabbath's 'Back to the Beginning' reunion concert.
The funeral procession for the Sabbath frontman is expected to travel through the heart of Birmingham at around 1pm, his home town, giving fans one final chance to say their farewells to the Prince of Darkness.
The cortege, along with the Osbourne family, is expected to stop at the Black Sabbath bench, where crowds of people, many wearing Ozzy Osbourne T-shirts and holding posters and other tributes, are waiting behind metal barriers.
Black Sabbath music is playing loudly and there are chants of “Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy” from the crowds.
Security personnel are taking bunches of flowers from those in the crowd to add to those already laying in front of the bench.
For those who can't visit the bench today, the procession will be livestreamed on the Black Sabbath Bench website.
New pictures have shown the poignant scenes prior to the procession arriving, with thousands of tributes being seen placed on the bench by tearful mourners.
Ozzy Osbourne fan Evie Mayo said the heavy metal star had inspired her and everyone in Birmingham as she waited by the Black Sabbath bridge for his cortege to arrive.
She told the PA news agency: “I think he was so influential, he was such an inspirational person. I think he really impacted everyone here, especially in Birmingham as well.
“Now that he’s not here any more, you can feel the impact of it. He inspired a lot of people and he was a great person.”
She added: “He inspired me by, I love his music, absolutely love his music. I’m learning guitar so that I can learn some of his songs.”
Black Sabbath fan Goose told the PA news agency that they discovered heavy metal as a teenager.
“That’s when I found, like millions of people around the world, that there was music that was for us, something that understood us,” they said.
“We knew that there was somebody out there that felt the way that we did and it was a constant presence.
“Ozzy helped give that to the world. He was a family member. He felt like a family member to so many people and he touched so many people’s lives.”
Ian Stone, from Birmingham, was among those to add flowers to the growing mountain of tributes to the rock legend, saying that it 'was a privilege' to see Ozzy perform.
He said: " I didn't have far to come but felt I had to pay tribute to a legend of rock and also of Birmingham. I was privileged to get to see him perform."
