Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – four of the founding fathers of heavy metal – are reuniting as Black Sabbath one final time this weekend. Two decades since the original Black Sabbath lineup last played live, the foursome will be back in Birmingham (where their legendary music careers started in 1968) for their momentous Back to the Beginning concert, as Ozzy prepares to bow out of performing once and for all.
It’s essentially a day festival, with dozens of other rock artists performing at the stadium from 11am. If you’ve ever doubted how much of an impact Black Sabbath has had on the rock world, all you need to do is take a look at the insane line-up of legends that have agreed to support the band on Saturday – from Metallica and Slayer to Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Duff McKagan of Guns 'N Roses, to name but a few.
So, here’s everything you should know ahead of Black Sabbath’s historic Back to the Beginning concert at Villa Park this weekend.
When are Black Sabbath playing Villa Park?
Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill will be playing Aston Villa’s home ground on Saturday, July 5
What time do doors open?
The main gates to the stadium will be opened at 11am, with the event kicking off at 1pm.
What time will Black Sabbath come on stage?
It’s not clear yet exactly what time Black Sabbath will take their place on stage one last time. However, we do know that curfew is at 11pm.
Full lineup
As we said, this is a full day event, and loads of pretty major bands and rockstars have been recruited to make sure Black Sabbath get the spectacular send off they deserve. The whole thing is being hosted by Hollywood star and heavy metal fanatic Jason Mamoa.
The full lineup features:
- Metallica
- Slayer
- Pantera
- Gojira
- Halestorm
- Alice In Chains
- Lamb Of God
- Anthrax
- Mastodon
- Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins)
- Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- David Draiman (Disturbed)
- Davie Ellefson (Megadeth)
- Duff McKagan (Guns 'N Roses)
- Slash (Guns 'N Roses)
- Frank Bello (Anthrax)
- Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit)
- Jake E Lee
- Jonathan Davis (Korn)
- KK Downing
- Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)
- Mike Bordin (Faith No More)
- Rudy Sarzo
- Sammy Hagar
- Scott Ian (Anthrax)
- Sleep Token ii (Sleep Token)
- Papa V Perpetua (Ghost)
- Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)
- Wolfgang Van Halen
- Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe)
- Vernon Reid (Living Colour)
- Zakk Wylde
What’s the seating plan?
The stadium set up is likely to look something like it did back when the Foo Fighters played Villa Park last year. This was the seating plan:
Setlist
A setlist hasn’t been revealed yet, and we reckon it will remain a mystery right up until Ozzy and co are up on stage.
Can you still get tickets?
Being the monumental, once-in-a-lifetime occasion that it is, tickets for Back to the Beginning sold out a long time ago. If you missed out, you can still get tickets to watch a livestream of the event, which begins at 3pm on Saturday. Sign up for that here.
What’s Villa Park's bag policy?
Large bags and suitcases are strictly a no-no. When we say large, we mean any bags bigger than A4 size – they must be able to fit under your seat.
Banned items
Clear plastic water bottles less than 500ml, small cameras and walking aids (in seated areas) are all fine to bring into Villa Park. But fans are forbidden from taking any of the following stuff into the venue.
- Food and drink - refreshments will be available inside the venue. Anyone who needs to bring in specific food for special dietary requirements will need to provide a doctor’s note on entry
- Alcohol - you can buy and consume alcohol in the stadium in plastic cups but you can't bring in your own
- Umbrellas
- Prams and buggies
- Laptops, tablets, large cameras and video recorders, recording or transmitting equipment
- Flags and banners with or without poles
- Fireworks, flares, air-horns, loud hailers, smoke canisters and laser devices
- Musical instruments
- Tools
- Sponsorship, promotional or marketing materials
- Knives, bottles, weapons and dangerous or hazardous items
- Bottles, cans, glass vessels, poles or any item that might be used as a weapon
Weather forecast
The sky may be slightly grey and cloudy on Saturday, but the main thing is that it doesn’t look too likely to rain. The Met Office forecasts that there’s a 30 percent chance of drizzle between 10am and 4pm and that the temperature will reach around 21C. The sun expected to peek out from the clouds at around 7pm.