One of the world’s biggest heavy metal music festivals is paying tribute to the world’s greatest heavy metal godfather. During the 2026 edition of France’s Hellfest, a massive statue of Ozzy Osbourne will be unveiled.
The news was shared by Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s widow and manager. She revealed the plans, including a photo of the statue, during a February 6 appearance at MIDEM 2026 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. The statue will be nearly 20 feet tall (six meters) and will be placed near the entrance of the Hellfest grounds, which are in Clisson, France.
Hellfest Takes Place From June 18 Through June 21 This Year
“Oh, there he is. Look at him, a rock god,” Sharon said during the MIDEM event. “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. So, I can only thank [Hellfest director] Ben [Barbaud]. Just bless you. It’s an amazing piece of art.”
The statue was not the only big news Sharon offered during her appearance at the MIDEM event. She also confirmed that Ozzfest, the annual heavy metal festival she and Ozzy founded in the 90s, will be returning in 2027. “Yes, absolutely. Yeah, we’re gonna do it,” she replied after being asked about Ozzfest revival speculation.
“The last one we did was 2018,” Sharon reflected. “It was just a month before Ozzy got sick, and that was at the Forum in L.A., and there was no plans to stop it. We were still gonna do it, but Ozzy couldn’t.”
“Ozzy and I would talk about it,” she went on to recall, “and he’d say, ‘Do you think Ozzfest would work without me?’ And I’m, like, ‘Yeah, it’s a brand. It will work without you.’ And he said, ‘We should do it.’”
Ozzy Osbourne Died on July 22, 2025
Sadly, Ozzy passed away on July 22, just weeks after delivering his final performance at the Back to the Beginning festival. During an appearance on the Dumb Blonde podcast, Sharon spoke about Ozzy’s last days. She revealed that, before the event, doctors had indicated that Ozzy might not have much longer.
“Yeah. Two weeks before the show, they said he could probably die, and he did,” she told Dumb Blonde host Bunnie Xo. “But he wanted to do it so bad. He needed it. And it’s, like, ‘Whether I die in two weeks or I die in six months, I’m still dying. I wanna go my way.’ And he did. He went like a rock star.”
The post Ozzy Osbourne Statue To Be Unveiled at 2026 Hellfest in France appeared first on VICE.
