Ozzy Osbourne returned to the “home of metal” for the last time on Wednesday as an emotional Birmingham honored one of its most cherished sons. Thousands of Black Sabbath fans paid their respects to the band's frontman as his hearse made its way through the city center followed by his tearful wife and children.

Family and fans of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne gathered in his hometown of Birmingham, England, on Wednesday to say a final farewell. The hearse carrying Osbourne, who died July 22 at the age of 76, traveled through the main streets of Birmingham with a view of the Black Sabbath frontman's coffin covered in purple flowers.

Ozzy Osbourne, who was born in Marston Green, a suburb of Birmingham, and who died at the age of 76, was one of the city's most celebrated cultural icons. He and Sharon Osbourne were married for 43 years before his death.