The End of an Era: Ozzy Osbourne’s Final Performance with Black Sabbath Announced

You ever notice how bands never actually retire? They announce their very last, totally final, we swear on our drummer’s snare collection concert… and then five years later—boom. Reunion tour. “Unfinished business.” “One last hurrah.” “Our accountant said we should.” Whatever.

Well, this time it looks like Black Sabbath is actually closing the book. Shutting the casket. Sprinkling the holy water and calling it a night. And honestly? It’s about time.

Because let’s be real—Ozzy Osbourne (the Prince of Darkness, the reality TV dad, the man who has survived more than modern medicine can explain) is 76 years old. The rest of Sabbath’s original lineup—Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward? Not exactly spring chickens. So when they say this is it, it actually feels like it.

The Event: “Back to the Beginning” (And Also the End)

July 5, 2025. Villa Park, Birmingham. The city that spawned heavy metal itself. It’s happening. The original Black Sabbath lineup—Ozzy, Iommi, Butler, and Ward—reuniting for one last, genuinely final, please-don’t-make-us-do-this-again performance.

Ozzy put it plainly:

“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.”

Poetic. (Well, for a guy who once bit the head off a bat.)

So Who Else Is Playing? Oh, Just Everyone

As if a full-fledged Sabbath reunion wasn’t enough, this show is stacking bands like a metalhead’s vinyl collection. We’re talking Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Anthrax, Alice in Chains, Mastodon.

And just when you think that’s enough, they throw in a supergroup. Because why not?

Imagine this: Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit—yes, really), Jake E. Lee, K.K. Downing (Judas Priest), Wolfgang Van Halen, and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine). Oh and Ghost’s new frontman, Papa V Perpetua, is making his official debut.

Basically if you have even a single black T-shirt in your wardrobe, this concert is your Mecca.

Why Now?

Ozzy’s health. That’s the big one.

Parkinson’s. Spinal surgeries. The man has been through it. And while he’s made more comebacks than a malfunctioning boomerang, Sharon Osbourne (wife, manager, professional Ozzy wrangler) has been clear:

“Ozzy didn’t have the chance to say goodbye properly before. This is his full stop.”

Full stop. Period. No comeback tours. No half-baked nostalgia runs. No “well, maybe just one festival.” This is it.

But Wait—Didn’t Sabbath Already Do a Final Tour?

Yes. They did.

It was called The End (2017). It wrapped up in Birmingham, because—full circle and all that. Tony Iommi, still battling lymphoma, has been careful about touring since. Sabbath’s last album, 13 (2013), was supposed to be their final statement.

Only problem? Bill Ward wasn’t there. Contract disputes, physical limitations, the usual band drama. This time? He’s back. And that’s why this one actually feels like the end.

The Logistics: When, Where, and How Fast Can You Get a Ticket?

• Date: July 5, 2025
• Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
• Tickets on sale: February 14, 2025, 10 a.m. GMT

Oh and before you start rage-posting about ticket prices—all proceeds are going to charity. Specifically:

• Cure Parkinson’s (for obvious Ozzy reasons)
• Birmingham Children’s Hospital (because Birmingham metalheads grow up to be Birmingham metal parents)
• Acorns Children’s Hospice (yep, even the heaviest bands have hearts)

Is This the Greatest Heavy Metal Show Ever?

Depends who you ask.

Tom Morello, the event’s musical director, has already thrown down the gauntlet:

“This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever.”

Big claim. But, uh, look at the lineup. The history. The context. If there was ever a show to deserve that title, this is probably it.

The Takeaway

No more “farewell” tours. No more contract disputes. No more speculation about whether or not Bill Ward will rejoin.

Just one final show. The first time in 20 years that the original lineup is playing together. The last time they ever will.

Birmingham. Heavy metal’s birthplace. And maybe—just maybe—the scene of its most historic goodbye.

(Unless, of course, Ozzy pulls a Mötley Crüe and announces another comeback in 2028. But let’s pretend for now, yeah?)

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