Black Sabbath’s original lineup – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – are set to reunite for one final show in their hometown of Birmingham, England on 5 July.
The comeback was announced at Villa Park today (5 February) by Osbourne’s wife, Sharon, alongside Iommi. The one-day festival – described by Tom Morello, who is serving as its musical director, as “the greatest heavy metal show ever” – will also see performances by Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Gojira and Anthrax, as well as Alice in Chains, Lamb of God and Mastodon.
Ozzy Osbourne will play a short solo set before joining his Sabbath bandmates, marking the first time the band’s original lineup have played together in 20 years. The concert will also feature a “supergroup” composed of the likes of Slash, Fred Durst, Billy Corgan, Wolfgang Van Halen and Tom Morello, and it is currently suspected that some of the guest stars may fill in for Osbourne during parts of the Sabbath set.
The band’s most recent show together dates back to a sold-out, farewell gig played at the NEC Arena back in 2017. Osbourne l went on to release two solo records afterwards – Ordinary Man (2020) and Patient Number 9 (2022) – though he stepped away from touring due to a spinal injury in 2019. Osbourne had also been struggling with Parkinson’s disease. His most recent stage appearance was at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham back in 2022, which you can watch below.
Rumours of a Black Sabbath reunion have been circulating for some time now, with Butler sharing back in 2024 that Osbourne was keen to play a final show with the band. “Ozzy was talking to me about, when he does his farewell concert – which he still wants to do,” he told Lifeminute. “He’s dying to still get out there and play, and he suggested, at his very final concert, for the four of us to get up onstage and maybe do three or four songs together. And that would be it, finished.”
Proceeds from the final reunion show will be donated to Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice – a Children’s Hospice supported by Birmingham-based football club Aston Villa. In a statement about the event, Osbourne says (via NME), “It’s my time to go Back To The Beginning… time for me to give back to the place where I was born. How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love? Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”
Tickets go on sale next Friday (14 February) at 10am GMT. Visit Ticketmaster for more information.
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