Black Sabbath Bridge
Ozzy Osbourne fans lay flowers on Black Sabbath bridge Instagram @cronicarock

KEY POINTS

  • Fans in Birmingham gather at the Black Sabbath Bridge to honour Ozzy Osbourne after his death
  • The bench-turned-shrine is covered in flowers, candles, beer bottles and handwritten tributes
  • Originally unveiled in 2019, the bench was co-designed by fans and officially launched by Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler

In the heart of Birmingham, under the low-hanging glow of canal lights, a humble bench has become the city's most visited shrine. Hours after the news broke of Ozzy Osbourne's death, fans began streaming into Broad Street — not to riot, but to mourn in the open and gather around a steel-and-stone landmark by a bridge named for the band that started it all: Black Sabbath.

As the sun set on the 'Home of Heavy Metal,' candles flickered to life on the Black Sabbath Bridge, transforming the site into a spontaneous memorial to the man known around the world as the Prince of Darkness. Bouquets of flowers lined the base. Notes scribbled with messages like 'Gracias Ozzy!' and 'You changed my life' were tucked between crafted tributes and the occasional pack of cigarettes or bottle of lager—a cheeky nod to Osbourne's notoriously hard-living past.

By 1:45am on Wednesday, the Black Sabbath bridge was still alive with visitors. A tearful woman who'd grown up on heavy metal wept quietly as she sat on the bench. A Mexican tourist recounted how he'd driven four hours to get there. And among the crowd, an unlikely sight—Canadian rapper Drake, in town on tour, pausing to pay his respects.

Though the bridge and bench have stood in Birmingham since 2019, they've never drawn this kind of attention—until now.

Fan-Built Landmark for a Global Legacy

The Black Sabbath Bridge and its now-iconic bench weren't born of a city council decree or record label campaign. Instead, they were willed into being by fans, led by Westside BID's Mike Olley and Dubai-based architect and Sabbath superfan, Mohammed Osama.

Mohammed, passionate about preserving the band's legacy, had started an online petition in 2017 calling for bassist Geezer Butler to receive a star on Birmingham's Walk of Stars. Thousands signed. The star was awarded. But it didn't stop there.

Mohammed proposed something bigger: relocate all the band's stars, build a commemorative bench, and rename the nearby canal bridge after the band. With support from Olley and creative help from illustrator Tarek Abdelkawi, the bench came to life, its surface adorned with striking portraits of the band members, protected by vandal-proof materials and a cross hand-forged by Birmingham jeweller Adam.

Launch Day of An Iconic Attraction

The tribute was first unveiled on 9 February 2019 inside Saint Luke's Church, before moving to its permanent home across Broad Street that summer. On 26 June, it was officially inaugurated by Black Sabbath icons Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. Arriving by barge, they floated under the soon-to-be-named bridge, before stepping ashore to unveil the bench for fans gathered from across the globe.

'The bridge name and commemorative bench are both terrific and we're thrilled that everyone can now enjoy what has become a special location for Black Sabbath history,' Iommi said at the time.

In the years since, the bench has been regularly maintained and refurbished, including a fresh repaint after the Covid lockdown, ensuring that fans who make the pilgrimage are greeted with a pristine tribute.

Final Goodbye

Osbourne's death comes just weeks after what would be his final bow: An epic Black Sabbath reunion show at Villa Park in Birmingham. The concert, only a short distance from the band's birthplace in Aston, saw Osbourne tell fans it was 'so good to be on this stage' one last time. That farewell now echoes with even greater poignancy.

A Shrine to Immortality

Now, in death as in life, Osbourne continues to bring people together. The Black Sabbath Bench, once just a fan-made passion project, has become a symbol of something much larger: not just the legacy of a band, but the lasting power of music to shape identity, memory, and community.

For the fans gathering in Birmingham's landmark attraction in the middle of the night, one thing is clear: this isn't just the Black Sabbath bridge or bench. It's a monument to a man who was loud, wild, and entirely unforgettable.

And it's exactly where they needed to be.