Ozzy Osbourne has confirmed that BLACK SABBATH’s appearance at his upcoming Back To The Beginning show will mark the absolute final time the band’s original lineup shares a stage — putting a definitive end to decades of reunion speculation.
Set to take place on July 5, 2025, at Villa Park in Birmingham, the all-star concert is being billed not only as a farewell to Ozzy’s legendary solo career, but as the last live performance involving the founding members of BLACK SABBATH.
While the band has previously staged what were supposed to be their final shows — most notably during The End Tour, which concluded in Birmingham in 2017 — Ozzy says this time, the farewell is for real.
“It’s very important,” Osbourne told Classic Rock magazine. “The original SABBATH will never be on stage together again. From the late ’60s, we’re probably one of the only bands where the original members are still alive and speaking with one another.”
The concert will feature the original lineup—Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward—reuniting for a once-in-a-lifetime show. The performance will also include a star-studded lineup, with appearances from METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA, GUNS N’ ROSES, TOOL, GOJIRA, ALICE IN CHAINS, HALESTORM, LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX, MASTODON and more.
In a joint interview with The Guardian the 76-year-old icon assured fans of his commitment to the performance. “I’ll be there, and I’ll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up.” Osbourne said, speaking alongside his bandmates.
Osbourne has faced a tough stretch of health issues in recent years, including a 2019 fall that worsened a previous spinal injury and led to multiple surgeries. He’s also battled pneumonia, a persistent infection, and a form of Parkinson’s disease.
In his interview with The Guardian, he admitted the toll it has taken on his mental health. “You wake up the next morning and find that something else has gone wrong,” Ozzy said. “You begin to think this is never going to end.” He said the reunion concert was conceived by his wife, Sharon, as “something to give me a reason to get up in the morning.”
“We’re only playing a couple of songs each,” he admitted elsewhere in the interview. “I don’t want people thinking ‘we’re getting ripped off’, because it’s just going to be … what’s the word? … a sample, you’re going to get a few songs each by Ozzy and SABBATH.”
In the same interview, BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi admitted that he was initially opposed to the idea of the band’s final concert. As one of the pioneering figures in heavy metal, Iommi’s reservations about ending BLACK SABBATH’s story with a farewell show stemmed from his reluctance to follow the footsteps of other bands who made similar promises, only to break them later with return tours.
“I’m the one that said, ‘I don’t know if we should do it,’ because we did a farewell tour and I didn’t want to get into that thing like all the other bands are doing, saying it’s the last tour and then reappearing again,” Iommi explained. He was concerned about the credibility of making a “final” concert, only to see other groups doing the same after claiming it was their last tour.
Despite his initial doubts, Iommi revealed that the event, now set for July 5, 2025, in Birmingham, England, eventually convinced him. “I’ve been convinced, because we’re doing it for a reason… No one’s getting paid or anything,” he shared. BLACK SABBATH’s last concert, titled Back to the Beginning, won’t just be a celebration of the band’s legacy—it will also serve a charitable cause. The event will raise funds for Parkinson’s and children’s charities, adding a meaningful dimension to the band’s farewell.
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