More Than Five Million People Livestreamed Black Sabbath’s Final Show
Given the gravity of what went down over the weekend, it should come as no surprise that the ‘Back to the Beginning’ livestream from this past Saturday was an incredibly successful event. The proceedings that took place at the Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom served as Ozzy and Black Sabbath‘s final curtain call, giving a ton of cultural importance to what many metalheads considered a must-watch event.
Yet according to The Guardian, how successful it really was might be shocking to many (but not to us metal fans). Apparently, the star-studded final farewell at ‘Back to the Beginning’ was livestreamed to more than five million people around the world. We’re not sure how The Guardian arrived at that number, but I’d be willing to bet the actual number of people watching the show — whether through legal or illegal means — is likely significantly more than that.
More than 40,000 people attended the actual event, which saw a crazy lineup of special performances from bands like Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Anthrax, Guns N’ Roses, Tool… the list goes on and on. And that’s not even mentioning the supergroups that played various Ozzy and Black Sabbath tunes. With the whole thing hosted by actor and noted metal fan Jason Momoa, it was the kind of show that will go down in the history books as one of the biggest cultural moments for the heavy metal genre.
And while it’s great to focus on the performances of that day, it’s important to remember that all profits generated by the event would be donated to charity. With livestream tickets going for $29.99 plus applicable taxes and fees at the very least, that means millions of dollars could be donated to benefit Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice, which is supported by Aston Villa. And that’s not even taking into account the more expensive livestream package or the tickets told to physically attend the event, so the amount raised for those charitable organizations may be absolutely massive.
Leave it to Black Sabbath’s boys from Birmingham to make their final act as a cornerstone of metal to give back to the community that made them who they are today.
