Ozzy Osbourne Bids Farewell, Plays Final Show With Black Sabbath & Special Guests

Tens of thousands of people donned their black attire to witness the final performance of Ozzy Osbourne and pay their respects to the Prince of Darkness.

The hard rock icon and his original bandmates from Black Sabbath— Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tommy Iommi and Bill Ward— reunited for the first time in 20 years at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, on July 5 to perform at an event titled “Back to the Beginning.”

Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello curated the tribute concert, which featured Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, Slayer, actor Jason Momoa as host, Jack Black, Anthrax, Halestorm singer Lizzy Hale, Smashing Pumpkin’s Billy Corgan, Travis Barker of blink-182, Sammy Hagar and many more.

It was a homecoming for Osbourne, who grew up just a few miles from the soccer stadium. The 76-year-old singer, who went public with his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 2020, sang while sitting on a black throne.

Black Sabbath performed a four-song set—“War Pigs, “Paranoid,” “NIB” and “Iron Man”— and Osbourne also played a solo set that closed with “Mama I’m Coming Home.”

Osbourne formed the band in Birmingham in 1968, and the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inf 2006, and Osbourne was inducted as a solo artist last year.

“I don’t know what to say, man. I’ve been laid up for like six years,” Osbourne told the crowd during his set. “And it’s so, you’ve got no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

More than 40,000 fans were in attendance, and over 3 million more reportedly paid to watch the livestream. Proceeds from the concert will go to Cure Parkinson’s, which aims to cure the disease, as well as Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorns Children’s Hospice.

Osbourne was a touring force before his back issues and Parkinson’s diagnosis. He headlined festivals like Welcome To Rockville, Corona Hell & Heaven in Mexico City and Ozzfest at Kia Forum in 2018, which featured Rob Zombie and grossed $1,219,740 off 12,465 tickets sold, according to Pollstar Boxoffice.

The heavy metal star is repped by Creative Artists Agency worldwide and managed by his wife, Sharon Osbourne.