Tickets for Black Sabbath's final show at Villa Park sold out in just 16 minutes today, leaving thousands of fans disappointed and angry.
The historic Back to the Beginning concert on July 5 will mark the first time in 20 years that the original lineup of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward have performed together.
The one-day festival in Birmingham will feature dozens of bands influenced by the heavy metal pioneers, including Metallica, Pantera and Slayer.
Proceeds from the charity concert will be split equally between Birmingham Children's Hospital, Acorn Children's Hospice and Cure Parkinson's - a cause close to Osbourne, who has lived with the condition since 2020.
Fans expressed their frustration as ticket prices ranged from £197.50 to £834 for the historic reunion show - but that anger was heightened further by the time it took for the tickets to sell out.
Many took to social media to voice their anger over the rapid sellout, with one long-time fan writing on X: "I've been a fan of this band for decades and have been trying all week to get presale tickets and now they're sold out in like 15 minutes? Absolute joke."
Ozzy Osbourne will return to the stage
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Another fan complained: "Was 800 in the Queue For Black Sabbath Final Show, and when I got in it wouldn't let me pick any seats, what a f***ing joke I hate Ticketmaster."
Ticketmaster came under fire once more from another fan who blasted: "Bands need to support fans and force the issue on the Ticketmaster monopoly. It's 2025 and they still can't handle traffic for major events. Awful company with their pricing and endless presales. #BLACKSABBATH #Ticketmaster."
And another concurred: "@TicketmasterUK You’re just laughing at people now. Just 1 seat available but you can’t buy it as you have to buy 2? And ‘gold circle’ available only there’s actually none left? You’re an absolute shambles! I hope karma comes calling #BlackSabbath #BackToTheBeginning."
Some fans reported being stuck in queues of over 12,000 people, while others questioned why they were still allowed to queue after tickets had sold out.
Ticketmaster should rethink on how they’re doing business. Absolutely pointless to queue for 1.5h to not being able to get tickets. #BLACKSABBATHtickets #blacksabbath pic.twitter.com/SjqUVGhzVq
— Mshka (@crimson_bay) February 14, 2025
The star-studded lineup for the historic show includes performances from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, and Anthrax.
Additional appearances will feature Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, and KoRn.
Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello will serve as musical director for the event, overseeing the various collaborations planned for the day.
Osbourne will perform a short solo set before joining his original Black Sabbath bandmates on stage for the reunion performance.
Sharon Osbourne revealed: "It's an endless amount of people. They're going to be doing some Sabbath songs, some Ozzy songs, and they'll all mix together. Different little groups will be coming on, but they're all icons."
The charity concert will benefit three organisations equally: Birmingham Children's Hospital, Acorn Children's Hospice and Cure Parkinson's.
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Sharon Osbourne told reporters that Ozzy is thrilled about the reunion: "He's doing great. He's doing really great. He's so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends."
She explained that Ozzy needed proper closure with the band: "He didn't have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there's been no full stop. This is his full stop."
"It's my time to go Back to the Beginning....time for me to give back to the place where I was born," said Ozzy Osbourne. "How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever."
