Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward will reunite Black Sabbath this summer for what they say is their final show, marking their first show with Bill Ward back on drums in 20 years. Ozzy’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, and Iommi announced the show, which will be the headlining set at a one-day festival in their home city of Birmingham’s 42,785 capacity football (soccer) stadium Villa Park on July 5. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, the event’s musical director, is calling it “the greatest heavy metal show ever,” and it’ll also feature an Ozzy set, plus Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Pantera, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Alice is Chains, Gojira, and Halestorm.
Also billed as “Additional Performances” on the lineup are Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Duff McKagan and Slash of Guns N’ Roses, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, Jonathan Davis of Korn, Mike Bordin of Faith No More, Papa V Perpetua of Ghost, Sammy Hagar, Wolfgang Van Halen, Sleep Token ii of Sleep Token, Tom Morello himself, and more. You can see the full list on the flyer below.
“It’s my time to go Back To The Beginning… time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Ozzy said in a statement. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love? Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”
Iommi wrote, “It’s been an incredible journey, but it’s only fitting that it ends here, where it all began in Aston. It’s great to be honoured by your fellow musicians and at the same time support good causes. None of this would’ve been possible without Ozzy, Geezer, and Bill. What we created together was bigger than any one of us, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”Tickets go on sale Friday, February 14 at 10 AM GMT with artist & other presales beginning three days earlier. Proceeds will go to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice. The venue, where Guns N’ Roses are also playing in June and where P!NK and Bruce Springsteen have both played in the past, is also advertising various “hospitality” packages that range from £445 to £795 per person.
Osbourne has had to cancel his most recent scheduled shows due to struggles with his health amid being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and said in 2023 that his “touring days” were over, but there had also been reports that he was planning a final show.
