Forty thousand fans packed into Villa Park in Birmingham on 5 July 2025 to witness the end of an era, as Ozzy Osbourne and the original members of Black Sabbath played their final set together.
Under a sky lit up by fireworks and a stage spinning slowly in the centre of the pitch, the band that helped invent heavy metal delivered a four-song farewell that closed the book on over five decades of history.
Black Sabbath’s final goodbye
Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward joined Osbourne on stage for a short but charged set that included War Pigs, NIB, Iron Man and the closing anthem Paranoid, a song that helped define a genre.
“Unfortunately, we’ve come to our last song, ever,” said Osbourne, seated for the duration of the performance. “Go f**king crazy! Come on!”
The performance marked a full-circle moment for the Birmingham-born band, who formed in the city in 1968 and went on to shape the sound and identity of heavy metal across the world.
A career that nearly ended in silence
Osbourne’s return to the stage seemed unlikely after years of health setbacks, surgeries and Covid-related cancellations. His 2023 withdrawal from touring had fans fearing they’d seen the last of him live.
But with the help of his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness got the send-off fans had hoped for. Dubbed Back to the Beginning, the all-day metal event brought together a formidable line-up including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Gojira and Anthrax.
The show was introduced by Jason Momoa, a longtime Sabbath fan, and livestreamed to over 5.8 million viewers around the world, making it one of the most-watched rock broadcasts of all time.
This was not just another farewell tour stop. It was, as many fans online have called it, the true final chapter in Black Sabbath’s story. No gimmicks. No replacements. Just Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill, one last time.
