SHARON OSBOURNE Says 'Back To The Beginning' Raised $11 Million For Charity: 'We Paid The Cost Of Bringing Everybody In, Accommodation, Everything'

Sharon Osbourne says that BLACK SABBATH's farewell concert raised $11 million — a far cry from the "ridiculous" initial reports that the event brought in nearly $200 million.

In the days after the July 5 event, dubbed "Back To The Beginning", the event's musical director, Tom Morello, shared an Instagram post stating that roughly $190 million (140 million British pounds) would be donated to charity from the concert. Billboard magazine later also reported that the event had raised $190 million, while The Guardian reported that the pay-per-view livestream of the event reached nearly six million fans, generating an estimated $150 million in revenue. At the time, it was expected that the funds would be distributed equally to Birmingham Children's Hospital, Acorn Children's Hospice and Cure Parkinson's — an organization dedicated to finding a cure for the disease Osbourne had lived with since 2019.

Sharon offered insight into the actual amount raised by "Back To The Beginning" while speaking to her children Jack and Kelly during the latest episode of "The Osbournes" podcast. Addressing the erroneous initial reports of the net amount of money generated by the concert, Sharon said: "If one show could have raised… I mean, [the articles were saying] it was up to, like 190 million. It's, like, any artist, just do one big show, film it and you can retire just on one show. No, it was nowhere near, and I wish that it was, but we are living in reality, in the real world."

Asked by Jack what "Back To The Beginning" actually raised, Sharon said: "It raised 11 [million]. But with the cost, 'cause we paid the cost of bringing everybody in, everybody out, accommodation, everything. [And] no one got paid. Nobody asked for a penny. They gave their time, their efforts, everything for free. People were just — oh God — so generous."

Sharon previously shot down the $190 million figure this past July while speaking to music industry trade publication Pollstar just five days before Ozzy's death.

"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," Sharon said at the time. "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?"

"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," she continued.

When Pollstar writer Ray Waddell noted that "these reports are not helpful for the Children's Hospital to see, waiting for their $190 million", 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."

Sharon went on to say that the concert, which also featured a solo performance from Ozzy, as well as appearances by METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA, GUNS N' ROSES and TOOL, among many others, was "a huge success." She said: "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."

Billboard reported in July that the concert was watched by 40,000 ticketholders and 5.8 million individuals online, with each of the above-mentioned charities also raising tens of thousands of pounds in additional donations by raffling off tickets to the show, auctioning off iconic art and band photographs donated by BLACK SABBATH, and through individual contributions from fans as they streamed into the concert, which took place at Villa Park in Birmingham, England.

At "Back To The Beginning", Ozzy played a five-song set with his solo band — consisting of guitarist Zakk Wylde, bassist Mike Inez, keyboardist Adam Wakeman and drummer Tommy Clufetos — before being joined by fellow original BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi (guitar),Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums) for four classic SABBATH songs: "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "N.I.B." and "Paranoid".

Ozzy's solo set consisted of four songs from Osbourne's 1980 solo debut album "Blizzard Of Ozz" — "I Don't Know", "Mr. Crowley", "Suicide Solution" and "Crazy Train" — along with his 1991 "No More Tears" ballad "Mama, I'm Coming Home".

The 76-year-old heavy metal singer sang while seated on a black throne and appeared overcome with emotion at times. "You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart," he told the crowd.

At the end of SABBATH's set, Ozzy said: "It's the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts." Osbourne was then presented with a cake, while fireworks lit up the stadium from overhead.

A message on screen then read, "Thank you for everything, you guys are fucking amazing. Birmingham Forever," before the sky lit up with fireworks.

Ozzy died on July 22 of a heart attack, his death certificate revealed. The certificate also reportedly said the musician suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin (courtesy of Premier)