Oi oi, Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning gig is nearly here, and it’s shaping up to be one of the biggest rock events of the decade.
The best part? You don’t need to fly to Birmingham to be part of it - you can watch the whole thing, live (ish), from your lounge right here in New Zealand. Here’s everything you need to know as we gear up for Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s final send off.
When can I watch Back to the Beginning in New Zealand?
The actual gig is taking place this Saturday 5th July 2025 at Birmingham’s Villa Park, with doors opening at 10am and the show kicking off around midday. Thanks to the time difference and the two-hour-delay on the stream, it means for us it’ll start streaming at 2am this Sunday 6th July.
Yes, that’s brutal for the sleep schedule, but thankfully, the stream will be available to watch for 48 hours after kick off. That means you’ll have til 2am Tuesday 8th July to sink your teeth into it.
Word is, the event will run for around 10 and a half hours, so make sure you block out a solid amount of time to settle in, crank the volume and soak it all in.
How can I watch the Back to the Beginning live stream?
The whole thing is streaming via backtothebeginning.com and tickets cost $50NZD. Not bad to be honest, especially if you gather up your mates and chip in for a watch party.
Once you’ve got your ticket - which are available to buy now - you’ll have access to the stream as soon as it begins, and as mentioned before, for 48 hours after that.
Who’s on the bill?
Honestly, it’s less of a gig and more of a heavyweight metal festival squeezed into one day. Not only are the original Black Sabbath members reuniting for their first time in two decades, but it’ll also mark their final gig ever, and Ozzy’s final bow.
There’s a stack of artists and bands set to perform, whether that’s as a full band, special solo performances, or as part of the super-group.
Main Performances…
Black Sabbath (original lineup: Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward)
Ozzy Osbourne (solo set - more on this below)
Metallica
Guns N’ Roses
Tool
Slayer
Pantera
Gojira
Alice in Chains
Halestorm
Lamb of God
Anthrax
Mastodon
Rival Sons
Sleep Token
Confirmed super-group members and ‘Back to the Beginning’ tribute performances…
Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)
Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins)
David Draiman (Disturbed)
Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses)
Slash (Guns N’ Roses)
Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)
Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit)
Jonathan Davis (Korn)
K.K. Downing (Judas Priest)
Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot)
Jake E. Lee (ex-Ozzy guitarist)
Mike Bordin (Faith No More / Ozzy's band)
Scott Ian (Anthrax)
Frank Bello (Anthrax)
Vernon Reid (Living Colour)
Papa V Perpetua (Ghost)
Zakk Wylde
Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Sammy Hagar (Van Halen)
Sleep Token II (Special appearance from Sleep Token)
Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)
Andrew Watt (Producer/guitarist)
Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe)
David Ellefson (ex-Megadeth)
And more!
And if that line-up wasn’t already stacked enough, it’s been revealed there’s gonna be some surprise guest performances too.
Back to the Beginning Set Times
While the official, minute-by-minute set times haven’t been locked in, Sharon Osbourne has given us a very loose idea of how the day’s gonna roll out.
Sharon told NME that once the show starts, “you’re going to see one icon playing with another icon, doing a Sabbath song and one or two of their own songs, and people playing with each other that you’d never see.
“Tom Morello is going to play with the drummer from Tool [Danny Carey] and they’re going to have Billy Corgan with them.”
She continued, “Then you’ll see Slash and Duff [Mckagan] and whoever they choose to play with. [Disturbed singer] David Draiman is going to come up and sing, Jonathan [Davis] from Korn is going to be here and he could be playing with [Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer] Chad Smith or whoever! Alice In Chains are coming and they’re playing as the band.”
Of course, the original Black Sabbath lads are then set to close out the night. However, Ozzy did tell SiriusXM back in February that he’ll only play “bits and pieces” with Sabbath, rather than a full-set.
“I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable,” he said.
As for the logistics, the gig is set to have a revolving stage so when one act is playing, the next act’s equipment can be set up to keep everything running smoothly.
Who’s hosting Back to the Beginning?
Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello is not only part of the lineup, but is also the musical director for the entire event, pulling the strings behind the massive supergroup tribute sets.
Holding it all together as host is none other than actor, metalhead, and all-round rock fan Jason Momoa, who’s set to MC the whole day.
How many songs is Ozzy Osbourne gonna sing?
The length of Ozzy’s solo set hasn’t been officially confirmed, nor has any set at the show, but it’s been reported that Ozzy is set to perform a short solo-set before joining his Black Sabbath bandmates.
A couple of months ago Sammy Hagar told Loudwire Nights that Ozzy’s “going to try and sing five songs.”
Considering the bloke has been battling a tonne of health issues (including Parkinson’s and other mobility issues), any effort is a great one I reckon.
Anything else I should know?
I’m glad you asked. If you wanna get really involved with the live-stream from here in New Zealand, there’s a chance to be featured on the broadcast.
Fans everywhere - including us here in NZ - are being invited to film a short, creative video answering one simple question:
“If you had 15 seconds to send a message to Black Sabbath, what would it be?”
The only rules? Keep it under 15 seconds, start by saying who you are and where you’re from, and make it fun, safe, and as creative as you like. Once you’ve got your message sorted, upload it HERE and you could see yourself pop up on the global live stream.
How good.
So there you go. Whether you’re planning on pulling an all-nighter or catching the stream the next day, Back to the Beginning is shaping up to be a historic send-off that you won’t wanna miss. Oh Lord Yeah!
