Ozzfest has confirmed its return to Villa Park stadium in Aston, Birmingham next year.
The former travelling heavy metal festival, launched by Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne and his wife/manager Sharon in 1996, will have its first edition since 2018 take place at the venue where the Prince Of Darkness performed his retirement show on July 5 last year.
Ozzy died on July 22, just 17 days after the gig, following a heart attack at his home in Buckinghamshire. He was 76.
The official statement promises “more info on everything coming soon”. Sharon, 73, said in an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer last month that the event will be one or two days long, depending on fan interest. She added that she was speaking to potential performers and headliners, and would offer news soon.
She told Billboard in January that Ozzfest will return with a lineup that transcends its past niche of rock and metal, with a focus on young talent.
“It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people,” she said. “We really started metal festivals in this country. It was [replicated but] never done with the spirit of what ours was, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids.”
Even though only a Birmingham event has been confirmed, Sharon has said that she wants to bring the festival back to the US, as well.
The Osbournes started Ozzfest after fellow travelling festival Lollapalooza refused to give Ozzy a spot on their lineup. The inaugural edition was a two-day tour with dates in Phoenix, Arizona and San Bernardino, California. Ozzy headlined with support from Slayer, Danzig, Biohazard, Sepultura and more.
As nu metal began to gather steam in the late 90s, Ozzfest became famous for putting up-and-coming artists on its bill. Such acts as Slipknot, Limp Bizkit and System Of A Down performed at the festival around the release of their debut albums.
Ozzfest expanded to have international offshoots in markets including the UK, Germany, Belgium and Japan before hosting its final incarnation – a single show in Inglewood, California – in 2018.
In 2023, Sharon explained why Ozzfest went away, saying on her family podcast The Osbournes that other managers got greedy.
“It was a very weird beast,” she said, “because all the bands were our mates, but the managers were greedy, and for some reason they thought that we were making billions on it and we weren’t. We made a profit. But it was not like – we couldn’t retire on it. And managers and agents wanted more and more and more, and it just wasn’t cost-effective anymore. We stopped because it just wasn’t cost-effective.”
However, the following year, she added that “of course” Ozzfest can return one day. “You can do it for a baby stage, but you still need the headliners,” she said. “It’s always great to have the baby stage, I mean, that’s what it’s all about – breaking new bands. That’s why we did it.”
Ozzy’s retirement show, Back To The Beginning, took place at a sold-out Villa Park and was live-streamed by more than five million people worldwide. Ozzy performed both with his solo band and his fellow Black Sabbath co-founders. The support lineup included Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Gojira, Anthrax and Mastodon. Proceeds from the event went to the charities Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity and Acorns Children’s Hospice.
Sharon told Hammer last month that a Back To The Beginning concert film will hit cinema screens later this year.
