‘We’re gonna do it’: Sharon Osbourne confirms Ozzfest return for 2027

Ozzfest is officially coming back!

Sharon Osbourne has confirmed she’s bringing the iconic metal festival back in 2027, after months of teasing and quiet whispers. Speaking on a panel at MIDEM in Cannes alongside Download Festival boss Andy Copping, she didn’t mince her words.

“Yes, absolutely. Yeah, we’re gonna do it,” she said.

The last Ozzfest ran in 2018 at The Forum in Los Angeles, just a month before Ozzy Osbourne fell sick. Sharon said there were never plans to end it.

“It was just a month before Ozzy got sick and that was at the Forum in L.A. And there was no plans to stop it. We were still gonna do it, but Ozzy couldn’t,” she explained.

She also shared a conversation she had with Ozzy about whether the festival could exist without him.

“Do you think Ozzfest would work without me?” he asked.

“And I’m, like, ‘Yeah, it’s a brand. It will work without you.’ And he said, ‘We should do it.’”

Earlier this year, Sharon told Billboard she’d been in talks with Live Nation about reviving the event, saying Ozzfest was “like summer camp for kids” and a place to give young talent a stage in front of massive crowds.

Ozzfest kicked off in 1996 after Ozzy was knocked back from Lollapalooza. Sharon built her own travelling heavy music circus instead, and it went on to help launch and spotlight a stack of metal and hard rock acts across the US and beyond.

There’s no word yet on dates, locations, or line-ups for 2027. But if Ozzfest returns in full force, I’m sure there’ll be a bunch of Kiwis keen to make the trip over.