In the days following the historic “Back to the Beginning” concert featuring the final performances of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, it was reported that the one-day metal extravaganza and accompanying livestream raised a whopping $190 million for charity. Now, Sharon Osbourne has set the record straight as to how much the event actually raised.
The $190 million figure was widely reported thanks to a social media post by Tom Morello, who curated “Back to the Beginning.” The Rage Against the Machine guitarist posted that number on Instagram, leading many news outlets (including Consequence) to report on that amount.
Sharon blasted that report over the summer, calling the $190 million figure “ridiculous,” but now she has revealed how much the event really brought in for three charitable causes, namely Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice.
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In the first episode of The Osbournes Podcast since Ozzy’s passing in July, Sharon said, “If one show could have raised… I mean, [the news reports 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.”
When Jack Osbourne asked her how much money “Back to the Beginning” really raised, Sharon responded, “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.”
That’s still a very impressive figure for a one-day event, and surely will mean a lot split between the three aforementioned charitable causes.
In addition to the final performances by Ozzy and Sabbath, “Back to the Beginning” featured sets by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, and dozens more metal and rock acts.
Watch the new episode of The Osbournes Podcast below.