Jack Osbourne Asks Fans to Flood #OzzyDay With Stories on First Anniversary

Birmingham hosts a free citywide tribute on July 22 as Jack Osbourne calls on fans globally to share their Ozzy stories using #OzzyDay.

Jack Osbourne took to Instagram ahead of July 22 to ask fans worldwide to spend the first anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne’s death sharing personal stories about the late Black Sabbath singer, as Birmingham prepares to host the first-ever Ozzy Day with free live music, public art, and tributes across the city centre.

Jack Osbourne’s Personal Ask to Fans

In the Instagram video, Jack described the past month as ‘ups and downs’ and ‘a mixed bag of emotions,’ acknowledging the weight of reaching the first full year without his father. He said he had been sitting with uncertainty about how to mark the day personally.

His request was direct: ‘I would like anyone who’s listening to this, anyone who is compelled, anyone who just wants to share a story about my dad to share a story. Whether it’s the first time you listened to his music, the first time you saw him play live or a time you saw him play live where something stood out to you. Or you had an actual encounter with him. Or whether you just want to talk about what his music meant to you. That’s what I want. I want to fill the entire day of July 22 with just awesome Ozzy stories.’

He closed with a characteristic nod to his father’s personality: ‘He would not want us to all be sat around shedding tears because that’s not his vibe. He did not like people crying in front of him. So yeah, spread the love that way and if you use the hashtag #OzzyDay, I’ll see it and I’ll be looking out for it. So here’s to Ozzy Day.’

What Birmingham Has Planned for Ozzy Day

Central BID Birmingham announced the day will feature a free ‘city centre programme of music, memories and tributes’ to Osbourne. The programming includes a public art series dedicated to the Black Sabbath icon, special live performances, and shared moments tied to his ‘life, legacy and Birmingham roots.’

Installations are planned at several landmarks around the Birmingham city centre, including the iconic Black Sabbath bench and bridge, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and Birmingham New Street Station. Many of these sites were central to last year’s Back to the Beginning homecoming concert.

Among the confirmed performers is Bostin Brass, the brass group that played at Ozzy’s public funeral procession in Birmingham last year. A new ‘Patient Number 9’ Golden Ale has also been launched in partnership with Hobsons Brewery to mark the occasion. Fans who cannot attend in person can follow events through the #OzzyDay hashtag on social media.

Jack Osbourne on Keeping It Personal

Speaking earlier with Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong for a July digital cover story, Jack had described his family’s approach to the anniversary as still taking shape. ‘It’s kind of gone back and forth,’ he said. ‘There was a plan to go to Birmingham and do something. And, for me, so much of his passing, there was a very public component to it. Just kind of sharing it with the world. So, for me personally, I’m just gonna keep it pretty much for me and my family this year.’

He added that his guiding principle had become asking what Ozzy himself would have wanted. ‘He hated birthday parties. He hated celebrations. He fucking hated people crying in front of him, so I’m just like keep it small, keep it mellow, keep it what he would have wanted.’ The Instagram request appears to be his way of channeling that instinct outward, turning the anniversary into a collective act of storytelling rather than public mourning.

The Year Since Ozzy’s Death

Ozzy Osbourne died last summer at age 76, just 17 days after playing his final-ever live show as a soloist and with Black Sabbath at Birmingham’s Villa Park. His death certificate confirmed the cause of death as a heart attack, also citing coronary heart disease and Parkinson’s disease. The document listed his occupation as ‘Songwriter, Performer and Rock Legend.’

The months since have seen a steady stream of posthumous recognition. He was given the Birmingham Lord Mayor’s Award on what would have been his 77th birthday last December. Fans launched a Change.org petition to rename Birmingham Airport in his honour. Sharon Osbourne shared plans for an Ozzy exhibition featuring his personal items to tour the world, and she revealed she was ‘seriously thinking’ about running to be the next Mayor of Birmingham.

In February, Ozzy received further posthumous recognition, though the source text was truncated before specifying the full details of that honour.

What we know

• July 22, 2025 marks the one-year anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne’s death and is being observed as the first-ever Ozzy Day.
• Jack Osbourne posted an Instagram video asking fans to share Ozzy stories using the hashtag #OzzyDay on July 22.
• Birmingham’s Central BID announced a free city centre programme of music, memories, and tributes for Ozzy Day.
• Bostin Brass, who performed at Ozzy’s public funeral procession, are among the acts performing on Ozzy Day.
• A ‘Patient Number 9’ Golden Ale has been launched in partnership with Hobsons Brewery to mark Ozzy Day.
• Ozzy died aged 76, with his death certificate citing a heart attack, coronary heart disease, and Parkinson’s disease as causes.
• Ozzy’s final live performance was at Birmingham’s Villa Park, 17 days before his death.
• Ozzy was posthumously given the Birmingham Lord Mayor’s Award on what would have been his 77th birthday in December.

The take

The shape of Ozzy Day reflects something that has become increasingly common in rock’s relationship with its lost icons: the hometown memorial as ongoing civic institution. Birmingham has been building this infrastructure since before Ozzy died, with the Black Sabbath bench, the bridge, and the Back to the Beginning concert at Villa Park all functioning as pilgrimage points. What’s notable about the first anniversary is how deliberately the city and the Osbourne family are separating public celebration from private grief, a distinction that matters when the figure in question spent decades making his private life public through reality television and tabloid coverage. Jack’s ask for stories rather than tears is consistent with how Ozzy himself navigated his own mythology: with humor, irreverence, and a genuine connection to fans that outlasted the shock-rock persona. The involvement of Bostin Brass, who played the funeral procession, also signals that Birmingham is treating this as a living tradition rather than a one-time commemoration. Sharon Osbourne’s reported interest in the city’s mayoral race and plans to tour the personal exhibition internationally suggest the family intends to keep Ozzy’s Birmingham identity central to his legacy for years to come. For classic rock fans, that kind of sustained, place-based memorialization is relatively rare; it puts Ozzy in company with figures like Jimi Hendrix in Seattle or Freddie Mercury in Montreux.

Why it matters

For classic rock fans, Ozzy Day represents a model for how a city and a fanbase can collectively process the loss of a generational figure without reducing it to a single event. Birmingham’s decision to build an annual, multi-venue programme around Ozzy’s legacy gives the global fanbase a focal point and a ritual. Jack Osbourne’s call for stories rather than mourning also reframes the anniversary as participatory, turning millions of individual fan memories into a shared archive. That instinct, honoring an artist through the experiences he created rather than the grief he left behind, is a meaningful template.

What’s next

Ozzy Day takes place on July 22 in Birmingham city centre, with free events at multiple locations including the Black Sabbath bench and bridge, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and Birmingham New Street Station. Fans worldwide can participate by posting Ozzy stories using the hashtag #OzzyDay. Sharon Osbourne’s planned international tour of the Ozzy personal exhibition remains an upcoming development, though no specific dates have been announced in the available reporting.

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