Eleanor Lawson & Will Jefford
BBC News, West Midlands
BBC
Every single flower left as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in Birmingham will be mulched and scattered at his grave
The flowers laid at sites across Birmingham in memory of Ozzy Osbourne will be mulched and scattered by his grave.
Central BID, who are behind the operation to remove the tributes from the Black Sabbath Bench and mural, said a team was working “around the clock” to process all of the tributes.
A spokesperson said each item was being taken to a warehouse in a secret location to be individually photographed, so that both a digital book and hard copy could be given to the Osbourne family.
Thousands of tributes were left in Birmingham after the heavy metal legend died aged 76 on 22 July, with people travelling from as far as Mexico and the US to pay their respects.
Fans left thousands of floral tributes and messages to the Black Sabbath frontman
On 30 July, the Osbourne family visited the memorial at the Black Sabbath bench as Ozzy’s coffin was driven along Broad Street in his home city, where thousands lined the streets in tribute to the Black Sabbath frontman.
Central BID now has the job of sorting through the thousands of tributes so they can be catalogued and sent to the Osbournes.
Among the sea of memorabilia are flowers, cuddly toys, artwork, written messages, football scarves, and flags, each separated into individual rows and columns.
There are, of course, plenty of replica bats, crosses, and band T-shirts.
Paul Barnett from Central BID told the BBC that items like toys and memorabilia would be used to raise money for charity.
“So Ozzy keeps up the good work he likes to promote,” he said.
Every single tribute left will be photographed to make a digital archive as well as a hard copy
A small team are working through the tributes, which includes taking the plastic wrapping off the bouquets of flowers so they be mulched and spread at Osbourne’s grave.
These include the black flowers laid at the Black Sabbath bench by his family, including his wife, Sharon Osbourne.
Pictures will also be taken of all the tributes for a digital and physical archive.
“There’ll be a historical record. There’s a forever memorial if you will for the love people had for Ozzy,” Mr Barnett said.
Ozzy Osbourne died a few weeks after Black Sabbath’s farewell gig at Villa Park in Birmingham
Bats became a staple part of Ozzy Osbourne’s iconography and this was reflected in the tributes left in Birmingham
“The amount of different little unique items people have sent or written, it just shows how much love people had for Ozzy,” Mr Barnett added.
“I think partly that’s because he was such a unique individual and people loved him because he could always just be himself.
“That meant a lot of people felt they could just be themselves and you see that written time and time again with the tributes. It’s overwhelming, it’s beautiful.”
Some of the items left by fans will be used for charity fundraising
Central BID has had a long, ongoing relationship with the Osbourne family, according to Mr Barnett.
“This is what the family want, they’ve expressed they want to make sure there’s a record of everything and all that love’s recorded,” he said.
“There’s just so much love and affection, he was an absolute legend.
“I think it’s really important everything’s recorded that none of the things people had given were left unseen.”