Sharon Osbourne has dismissed as “ridiculous” the widely circulated claims that BLACK SABBATH’s farewell concert — Back To The Beginning — raised nearly $200 million for charity.
The high-profile event, held on July 5th, featured not only a solo performance by Ozzy Osbourne, but appearances from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, and more. According to early media reports, including those from Billboard and The Guardian, the event was said to have brought in between $150 million and $190 million — primarily from ticket sales and a global livestream viewed by almost six million fans.
But in a July 17th interview with Pollstar — just five days before Ozzy’s death — Sharon Osbourne set the record straight.
🚫 Sharon: “Where Does This Stuff Come From?”
Responding directly to those inflated numbers, Sharon said:
“One of the things that’s frightening me is all this false press about [how], we’ve made $140 million and all of this, and I’m like, God, I wish we could have, for one gig. It’s just ridiculous, the different stories. I went on the internet the next morning and it was like, $140 million, $160 million. And I’m like, Where does this stuff come from?”
She emphasized that calculating the final donation totals will take at least six weeks, as production costs, artist expenses, and other logistics need to be factored in.
“It takes a really long time [to arrive at the final number that will be donated to charity], because we’ve had all of the bands that we had come in and their expenses, and it’ll take a good six weeks to get the final number.”
🏥 False Hope for Charity Recipients?
When Pollstar interviewer Ray Waddell pointed out how such exaggerated reporting could raise false expectations for the organizations waiting to receive donations — like Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorn Children’s Hospice, and Cure Parkinson’s — Sharon responded:
“Oh my God! It’s the Children’s Hospital, a children’s hospice, and Parkinson’s research. Everybody thinks that they’re going to cure everything with this much money, but it’s not the real world.”
🎤 A Groundbreaking Farewell — But Not a Financial Miracle
Despite correcting the rumors, Sharon made it clear that the farewell concert was a massive success, both in impact and in spirit.
“It was a phenomenal event. It was the first time, I think, that anybody’s gone into retirement and done it, where the show is streamed and it goes to charity. So it’s the first time anybody has said goodnight like that, it’s the perfect way, when you’ve had such a long career, to end it. I never wanted Ozzy to just disappear without some big event.”
With Ozzy Osbourne’s passing just a week later, the Back To The Beginning concert now stands as his final farewell — a historic moment for fans and for the legacy of BLACK SABBATH.
