Ozzy Osbourne’s prestigious Freedom of the City of Birmingham award is now on display at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery as part of Ozzy’s record-breaking Working Class Hero exhibition.
Sharon Osbourne and the Osbourne family have kindly loaned his treasured award to the museum to allow Black Sabbath fans the opportunity to see it first hand.
It was added to the Working Class Hero exhibition on Saturday November 22 by Central BID Birmingham, as curators and main funders of the exhibition.
Central BID has added subsequent important pieces to the exhibition as they have become available, including one of the final photographs of the heavy metal star on stage at Villa Park, which can also be seen in the exhibition.
The exhibition, which celebrates Ozzy’s global achievements and solo career, has seen record numbers of visitors to the museum since it opened on June 25 and has been extended due to pubic demand until January 18, 2026.
The original members of Black Sabbath; Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Terence ‘Geezer’ Butler and Bill Ward were awarded The Freedom of the City of Birmingham by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zafar Iqbal in the Council House, Birmingham on June 28, 2025.
The honour is one of the oldest traditional ceremonies in the country and recognises exceptional service to the city.
As part of The Freedom of the City ceremony, each band member was presented with a framed handwritten scroll and a medal. They each received the title of Honorary Freeman, and their names were engraved on the Freedom of the City marble board in the Council House.
Alongside the framed scroll in the museum, there is a photograph of Ozzy proudly receiving his award.
Ozzy said at the time: “I first put an advert in a music store in town. If these guys hadn’t come to my door, I wouldn’t be sitting here now. It seems to have flown by so quickly. It’s amazing. I think about my dad, who went into debt to buy me a microphone. If only he could be here now. I think he would be very proud. I’m a Brummie and I always will be a Brummie. Birmingham Forever!”
The Working Class Hero exhibition is free. Find it at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in Chamberlain Square.
Photo credit for top photo of Ozzy Osbourne being presented Freedom of the City: Neville Williams, Aston Villa F.C.