An enormous statue of the late Ozzy Osbourne was raised in preparation for this year’s Hellfest, which kicks off today, June 18, and lasts through the weekend in Clisson, France.
The almost 20-foot-tall (six meters) statue was created by contemporary French artist and sculptor Phillipe Pasqua. Sharon Osbourne shared the news of the statue in a social media post and, while she wasn’t there when it went up, thank all involved in making it happen.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be at Hellfest for the unveiling of Ozzy‘s statue,” Sharon said in the caption of her Instagram post. “Unfortunately I had an unexpected trip to the hospital earlier in the week. A big thank you Olivier Garnier, Ben Barbaud and everyone at Hellfest. Special thank you to @philippe_pasqua_officiel for the absolutely stunning statue!”
Hellfest has feature statues of fallen artists at past festivals as well, Ozzy Osbourne is not the first. Famously, they revealed a new statue of late Mötörhead icon Lemmy Kilmister for the festival in June 2022, replacing a previous sculpture that had started to fall apart. The 2022 statue was made by French sculptor Caroline Brisset.
This year’s Hellfest boasts over 170 bands, with Bring Me The Horizon, Iron Maiden, Limp Bizkit, and The Offspring headlining each respective day. For the festival’s full lineup, go here.