Sharon Osbourne Says Ozzy’s Last Show Didn’t Raise $190 Million

Sharon Osbourne says reporting that claims her husband’s farewell concert raised $190 million is “just ridiculous.”

On July 5, a sprawling, star-studded show titled ‘Back to the Beginning‘ took place at Villa Park in Aston, Birmingham, England. Ozzy Osbourne himself performed, both solo and with the original lineup of Black Sabbath. While it was intended as a farewell show for Ozzy, whose physical health has suffered in recent years from Parkinson’s, it ended up being the final show of his life. Ozzy passed away 17 days later on July 22.

Five days before the death of her husband, Sharon Osbourne was interviewed by Pollstar. At the top, she alleged that inaccurate reporting was being published regarding how much money the aforementioned concert raised for charity. It was previously announced that all proceeds from the show and the live stream that accompanied it would be donated to Acorns Children’s Hospice, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Cure Parkinson’s.

Billboard reported that the event raised over $190 million [approximately £140 million] but wrote that it was “unclear yet what the final donation to each charity will be.” Rolling Stone also wrote that “nearly $200 million” was raised, but noted that the “final numbers have not been disclosed.”

READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Ozzy Osbourne Solo Album

Speaking with Pollstar in July, Sharon emphasized that the numbers were still being crunched.

“I’m really happy that we are talking,” she said, “because 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.’ 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?’ And people like Billboard have printed it.

“It takes a really long time, 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. Because we’re selling merch for another two weeks from the gig. So, we’ve got another two weeks of sales yet to add to it. It’ll be another four weeks and it’ll be done.”

Still, Sharon expressed satisfaction with how the concert played out.

“It was a huge success, because it was a phenomenal event,” she said. “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. And it’s the best way then to go home to where it all started, to go to his favorite stadium in the world, which is [home to] his beloved Aston Villa [soccer] team, and it was just perfect. It was the perfect storm, put it that way.”