OzzFest Is Back: Festival Confirms Venue For 2027 Edition in Ozzy Osbourne’s Hometown
The festival first took place in 1996 and was last held in 2018.
Ozzy Osbourne at Back to the Beginning
After much teasing, it’s finally been confirmed: OzzFest is returning in 2027. The festival’s official Instagram page confirmed the return of the rock and metal festival for next year and that the event will be held in Villa Park, Birmingham.
The 42,000-capacity stadium was the site of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell show Back to the Beginning, which took place in July 2025. The post promised that they will share “more info on everything coming soon!” The event dates and lineup have not yet been shared.
OzzFest was devised by Ozzy’s wife and manager Sharon back in 1996 after she was rebuffed by Lollapalooza when trying to book Ozzy for a show. The festival became an annual occurrence and toured throughout the U.S. and Europe until 2008. Since then, it has taken place sporadically, most recently in 2018 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Over the years, the festival saw performances from Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters, Tool, Deftones, Slipknot and more. In 2024, Yungblud launched BludFest in Milton Keynes, England and was inspired by the approach his late mentor took with OzzFest.
Since Ozzy’s passing in 2025, Sharon has spoken frequently about bringing the event back. Speaking to Billboard earlier this year, she revealed that negotiations with Live Nation were under way about an event for 2027. “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.”
Charity concert Back to the Beginning took place at Villa Park – home to football team Aston Villa F.C. – in a place of serious significance to Ozzy; The Prince of Darkness grew up in the city’s Aston region, and co-founded Black Sabbath in Birmingham with Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler in 1968.
The event saw the final live outing for Ozzy and Black Sabbath, as well as tribute performances from Metallica, Yungblud, Slayer and more.
