Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's final show: Here's how to stream

USA Today

2 days ago

Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath are taking the stage together for the final time – and you can stream the event.
The concert, dubbed "Back to the Beginning," is set to take place Saturday, July 10, at Villa Park – home of Aston Villa Football Club – in Birmingham, England.
Osbourne will perform, then he will join Black Sabbath for a set featuring the original four members who formed a band in 1967 – guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward and Osbourne – performing together for the first time since 2005. (During Black Sabbath's "The End" tour, which ended in February 2017 in Birmingham, drummer Tommy Clufetos joined the other three in place of Ward.)
Black Sabbath and Osbourne are the headliners on a day of music featuring a who's who in hard rock.
Also on the bill: Metallica, Guns 'N Roses, Slayer and several other bands. There's also a slew of other big-name artists who will likely team up in various configurations; among them are Sammy Hagar, Smashing Pumpkins co-founder Billy Corgan, Jake E. Lee, the one-time guitarist for Osbourne who has recovered from a shooting in October 2024, and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave), who is the event's music director.
"This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever," Morello said in a Feb. 5 press release announcing the event.
Black Sabbath's last concert is 'goodbye' from heavy metal pioneers
Osbourne wanted to do one more show to say a proper "goodbye" to friends and fans, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne's wife, told BBC back in February.
After his wife proposed the idea of Ozzy playing a final gig at Villa Park in Birmingham, an industrial city about 120 miles northwest of London and the birthplace of the original Sabbath members, "I called Geezer, Tony and Bill to see if they wanted to come up to do some songs and thankfully, they did," Osbourne told Mojo magazine.
Osbourne may perform seated on a throne, Iommi told Mojo. That's not unprecedented stagecraft.
Guns 'N Roses frontman Axl Rose used a throne for several shows in 2016, including at Coachella after he suffered a broken foot. He borrowed the throne from Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters who debuted it at the band's 20th anniversary show in 2015 in Washington, D.C. to allow him to perform despite a broken leg.
Since Osbourne's last full concert – OzzFest in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve 2018 – he has faced several medical challenges including a fall and being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019.
In 2023, Osbourne cancelled U.K. and European tour dates and a planned performance at the Power Trip festival because of his physical weakness. "Unfortunately, my body is telling me that I'm just not ready yet," he said at the time. In May 2024, Osbourne said he was undergoing stem cell treatments after doctors discovered a tumor on his vertebrae.
How to watch Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne's 'Back to the Beginning'
A livestream of the daylong event was announced in June. While it's called a livestream, the video will be delayed two hours from the in-arena start time. Those who stream the event will be able to start watching at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT.
Here's what it costs; go to backtothebeginning.com to purchase:
Concert proceeds benefit Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice.
There's also an online auction benefiting those charities. Items up for bid include two Gibson guitars signed by performers, a Guns 'N Roses pinball machine, several gold record and CD displays including Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti" and Metallica's "Master of Puppets," plus a dozen-plus travel packages including seven nights at Royal Westmoreland, Barbados.
Who's performing at Black Sabbath's last concert?
Bands scheduled to perform include Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Mastodon and Rival Sons.
Artists also expected to perform, according to the event (although the lineup is subject to change):
Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & [e-mail]
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