Nearly five months after his death, Ozzy Osbourne was posthumously honored by his hometown with the Birmingham Lord Mayor’s Award. The legendary musician received the honor on Wednesday, December 3 – what would have been his 77th birthday.
According to the Birmingham City Council, the Lord Mayor’s Award is given for “outstanding service to Birmingham” and acknowledges Ozzy’s “impact on the city’s cultural and musical identity.”
It is “one of Birmingham’s highest civic honors and celebrates individuals and groups’ outstanding achievement or exceptional service to the City and people of Birmingham.”
Kelly Osbourne breaks down in tears in first TV interview since Ozzy's death https://t.co/YxpiPX5ome
— The US Sun (@TheSunUS) December 4, 2025
In a small private ceremony, Ozzy’s daughter Kelly Osbourne and wife Sharon Osbourne were presented the award, accepting it on his behalf. They were also presented with a Book of Condolences containing thousands of messages from fans, written in the days following his July 22 death and later compiled and bound by the Birmingham Museum.
After accepting the honor, Kelly told BBC Radio WM that it had “been a bit of an emotional” day for her. “Birmingham is so special to him and never in my wildest dreams did I expect the outpouring of love that we received,” she said, going on to call her dad “the people’s person.”
“He never changed and was always the working class hero,” Kelly added. “He never thought he was better than anybody else, he just loved what he did so much, entertaining and making people happy. My dad has shown the world not just Birmingham, but Birmingham particularly, that you can be a boy from Aston and be everything.”
In another, pre-recorded, interview aired on BBC Breakfast on Thursday (Dec. 4), an emotional Kelly reflected on how much the honor means to their family.
“The fact that he has been recognized in such a way means so much to us because he loved this city, he loved Birmingham, he was a true Brummie through and through, and to be recognized in this way, it’s incredible,” she said.
“He worked so hard to do what he wanted to do most in this and that was perform one more time and then he was ready to go. He made a mark on this planet that will never be erased.”
Breaking down into tears, Kelly continued: “It actually has been horrific. I’ve never ever felt anything like grief. I never realized that you could love someone so much.”
“I’ll never forget it, as long as I live. The feeling of love that we felt for my father on the day of the procession, it still blows my mind. Everybody that showed up, and every letter of condolence, the outpouring of love, has helped us so much because we’re not going through this alone.”
In a separate video message shared by the Birmingham City Council, Kelly again explained how grateful she is for the outpouring of love their family has received since his death.
“I just wanna take a second to thank the people of Birmingham for not only showing my family so much love, but for showing up for my father in a way that made him the happiest man on the planet,” she said. “I mean, we’re here today receiving the Lord Mayor’s Award. We got to see the Books Of Condolences that have hundreds of thousands of signatures in it. It’s beyond our wildest dreams. We can’t thank you enough.”
“The one thing that my father was most proud of is that he was a Brummie, and Birmingham has done him proud.”
