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A massive statue of the late rocker Ozzy Osbourne is set to be unveiled at France’s annual metal festival Hellfest.
Ozzy’s widow, Sharon, shared the news at the MIDEM music industry conference in Cannes, France.
“Oh, there he is. Look at him, a rock god,” she said while images of the in-progress statue were shown on a screen. “That is going to debut at Hellfest, and that is June 18th. And the whole family will be there to see it. And it’s such a great tribute. It’s amazing.”
Check out the footage (skip to the 48-minute mark) below:
The 6-metre-tall statue of the Black Sabbath legend comes four years after Hellfest debuted a giant Lemmy Kilmister statue, created by Caroline Brisset, in honour of the late Motörhead frontman.
As of writing, the sculptor of the Ozzy statue has yet to be revealed.
This year’s Hellfest, which runs from 18-21 June, will feature headliners Iron Maiden, Limp Bizkit, Bring Me The Horizon and The Offspring, along with Alice Cooper, A Perfect Circle, Opeth, The Hives, Volbeat and Tom Morello.
Sharon Osbourne has also announced that Ozzfest – the metal festival founded by the Osbourne family in 1996 – will be back next year.
The metal festival will kick off with a two-day event in Ozzy’s hometown of Birmingham, UK, before heading to the States.
Speaking in the latest episode of The Osbournes podcast on YouTube, Sharon revealed: “We wanna do two days in Aston Villa and then come to America. And we wanna hear from everyone where we should go in America. And also we’ve gotta find a lot of young, new talent, because that’s what [Ozzy] would want.”
The Prince of Darkness was posthumously awarded with Lifetime Achievement Award at last weekend’s BRIT Awards – a prize which was accepted by Sharon and daughter Kelly at The Co-op Live, Manchester.
“I’m honoured to accept this award for my gorgeous husband, this lifetime achievement award,” Sharon began in her lengthy speech. “God knows that I wish he was here to accept it. So, you’ve got the booby prize, you’ve got me doing it. But I know that Ozzy is looking down on us all right now and I know what he’s thinking.”
She continued: “If Ozzy was here tonight with us, he would be showing us that gorgeous smile that he had. And I know he would be so proud to receive this from the country that he loves. So, he may not be here, but he left us one amazing body of work that will never be forgotten by the country that made him.”
Sharon concluded: “There will never be another Ozzy f*cking Osbourne! Thank you!”