BLACK SABBATH awarded Freedom Of The City Of Birmingham
02-07-2025
The founding members of BLACK SABBATH were awarded the Freedom Of The City Of Birmingham at a ceremony in the Council House on Saturday, June 28.
At the ceremony, the original band members Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward were presented with their Freedom Of The City scrolls and medals by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zafar Iqbal.
The Freedom Of The City honor is the one of the oldest traditional ceremonies in the country and recognizes people’s exceptional service to the city.
This honor recognizes BLACK SABBATH‘s significance to the cultural and musical identity of Birmingham, their strong association with the city and continued influence as pioneers of heavy metal in both Birmingham and beyond.
As part of the Freedom Of The City, each band member received the title of Honorary Freeman and an engraving of their names on the Freedom Of The City marble board was also unveiled at the ceremony.
The scrolls were produced by local company Hilton Studios and the medals were produced by Jewellery Quarter-based business Fattorini.
The medal design was created by competition winner Toby Williams, a student studying in the School Of Jewellery at Birmingham City University.
Toby‘s winning design was inspired by the themes of industry and community, reflecting the people of Birmingham.
BLACK SABBATH formed in Aston in 1968, going on to create eight albums and selling over 75 million albums worldwide. They are considered pioneers of the heavy metal genre and are one of the most commercially successful heavy metal bands.
They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2006, awarded a Lifetime Ivor Novello Songwriting Award in 2015 and were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
Speaking on receipt of the award, Butler said: “This is a great working-class city, and we’re all working class, from Aston. We weren’t given a chance when we started out, but Birmingham has always been behind us. People used to make fun of our accents, but we’re all proud Birmingham people and we love this city. It’s one of the greatest cities ever, it’s given the world so much and we’re proud to be here.”
Iommi added: “It’s a great thing to receive. Birmingham is our home, and we love what Birmingham has done for us. We’ve got the bridge and the bench, things like that. We’re very grateful.”
Osbourne said: “I first put an advert in a music store in town. If these guys hadn’t come to my door, I wouldn’t be sitting here now. It seems to have flown by so quickly. It’s amazing. I think about my dad, who went into debt to buy me a microphone. If only he could be here now. I think he would be very proud. I’m a Brummie and I always will be a Brummie. Birmingham forever!”
Ward added: “It’s completely overwhelming. I’m so proud to be an Astonian. That’s where I got my attitude. I was blessed — and cursed! — to meet Tony when I was 15, and I’m so proud that I got to know Geezer and Ozzy. They’re my brothers. I love them very much and we love our city very much.”
The engravings in the Council House building joins BLACK SABBATH bridge on Broad Street as a permanent tribute to the band and their accomplishments.
Cllr Sharon Thompson, deputy leader of the city council said: “From the streets of Aston to global success, the ceremony has been a fitting celebration of their achievements and connection to our city, showcasing the band’s incredible career as pioneers of heavy metal and recognizing their continued legacy as part of Birmingham’s rich musical identity. BLACK SABBATH are global ambassadors of our city, and their music continues to inspire musicians across the world, so it has been wonderful to recognize the band with this honor.”
Councillor Zafar Iqbal, Lord Mayor of Birmingham, added: “It is a pleasure to pronounce Terence ‘Geezer’ Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward as Freemen Of The City of Birmingham.
“The Freedom Of The City is one of the oldest civic honors and given in recognition of exceptional service to Birmingham.
Conferring these honors on BLACK SABBATH‘s founding members, who are proud Brummies, is a fitting tribute to the band, marking their importance to Birmingham’s cultural landscape and the pride of our city as their hometown.”
Professor David Mba, vice chancellor at Birmingham City University, said: “We’re proud that our University — and particularly the iconic School Of Jewellery — has played such an instrumental role in this special recognition of a very special band.
“The creation of these remarkable medals is a golden demonstration of how BCU — as rooted in Birmingham as BLACK SABBATH themselves — continues to answer the call of the city, standing alongside willing partners like the City Council.
“Congratulations to Ozzy, Geezer, Tony and Bill. We hold great pride in your peerless representation of Birmingham on a global stage.”
The original lineup of BLACK SABBATH — singer Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward — recently commenced rehearsing for its final performance, “Back To The Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow”, set to take place on July 5 at Birmingham, United Kingdom’s Villa Park.
On Saturday (June 28), the official BLACK SABBATH and Iommi social media shared several new photos (see below) of Osbourne, Iommi, Ward and Butler at the mural — created by local artist Daniel Russell-Ahern, better known as Mr Murals — depicting all four original SABBATH members on Navigation Street near Grand Central Station in Birmingham, along with the following message: “We made the trip to the mural. Only 1 week until Back To The Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow“. Iommi added: “Hasn’t Mr Murals been busy! Very flattered to be honoured in such a creative way, thank you Birmingham!”
Fans can get even more excited for Ozzy Osbourne and BLACK SABBATH‘s monumental farewell performance, as the trailer drops today for “Back To The Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow”, the highly anticipated global livestream of the sold-out show you can’t miss.
On July 5, music history will be made as Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince Of Darkness, will take to the stage for his final ever live performance, joined by the original BLACK SABBATH lineup for the first and last time in two decades, in the biggest metal event of all time.
Following an outpouring of fan demand from across the globe — and even a petition begging for a way to watch this once-in-a-lifetime event — prayers have now been answered with tickets for the livestream available at www.backtothebeginning.com.
Broadcast live from Birmingham, United Kingdom’s Villa Park, those who missed out on being there can still experience this unforgettable moment, with access to the raw livestream from 3:00 p.m. on July 5, and the chance to rewatch the concert in its entirety for another 48 hours.
“Back To The Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow” will be captured, produced and distributed by Mercury Studios (“One To One: John & Yoko”, “American Symphony”, “Metallica Saved My Life”),who are pioneering the way for premium, music-driven storytelling across film, television, podcasts and immersive formats. Mercury has partnered with Kiswe — the global D2C streaming partner behind the record-breaking BTS concert livestream — to deliver this unforgettable moment of music history to fans across the globe.
Ozzy‘s wife and manager Sharon Osbourne said: “We had such an overwhelming demand from fans from around the globe, who couldn’t get tickets to the show, and they took to social media, pleading with us to broadcast a livestream of the show. Being this is such a historic event, we just couldn’t let them down.”
Kelly Sweeney, managing director of Mercury Studios, said: “Mercury Studios are incredibly proud to be involved in capturing this monumental milestone at Villa Park. ‘Back To The Beginning’ will be an unforgettable experience, and our aim is to deliver this moment to fans worldwide, wherever they are, so they don’t miss out on seeing music history being made.”
The all-day event at Villa Park, produced by Live Nation, will be hosted and compered by American actor Jason Momoa, and feature a supergroup of musicians.
This past February, Sharon told The Sun that her husband is struggling to walk amid his battle with Parkinsons disease, but that his singing voice is “as good as ever”. She said: “[Ozzy‘s] very happy to be coming back and very emotional about this.
“Parkinson’s is a progressive disease. It’s not something you can stabilize. It affects different parts of the body and it’s affected his legs. But his voice is as good as it’s ever been.”
Ozzy and the rest of the original BLACK SABBATH lineup — guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — will perform one last time as part a fundraising event at Villa Park, featuring a host of bands they inspired, including METALLICA, PANTERA, SLAYER, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX.
The concert, dubbed “Back To The Beginning”, was announced at Villa Park on Wednesday (February 5) by Sharon and Tony.
See the full list of performers in the poster below.
All proceeds from the show will go to Birmingham charities Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice.
Osbourne comments: “It’s my time to go ‘Back To The Beginning’… time for me to give back to the place where I was born. How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”
METALLICA says: “We are beyond honored and humbled to be invited to perform at BLACK SABBATH‘s final show, back where it all began in Birmingham, England. On July 5 at Villa Park — home of Aston Villa — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward will reunite to play their first show together in 20 years. Tickets go on sale at 10 AM GMT on Friday, February 14, via Ticketmaster UK and Live Nation UK.
“As part of this huge celebration of nearly six decades of BLACK SABBATH, we’ll hit the stage just before a short solo set from Ozzy Osbourne, followed by the mighty SABBATH closing the show. ANTHRAX, ALICE IN CHAINS, GOJIRA, HALESTORM, LAMB OF GOD, MASTODON, PANTERA, and SLAYER will also be a part of the massive night.
“An incredible lineup of musicians from around the globe will also be on hand to pay tribute, including Billy Corgan (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS), David Draiman (DISTURBED), Duff McKagan & Slash (GUNS N’ ROSES), Frank Bello (ANTHRAX), Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT), Jake E. Lee, Jonathan Davis (KORN), K.K. Downing, Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM), Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE), Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (ANTHRAX), II (SLEEP TOKEN), Papa V Perpetua (GHOST),Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),Wolfgang Van Halen, and Zakk Wylde.
“All profits from the night will go to the following charities: Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa.
“Our admiration for BLACK SABBATH runs deep, and we cannot wait to be a part of this historic event! We’ll see you in Birmingham!”
A year ago, Sharon said that Ozzy was hoping to play a farewell concert at Birmingham’s Villa Park as a “goodbye” to fans.
BLACK SABBATH is considered a pioneer of heavy metal and was formed in 1968 in Aston, Birmingham.
BLACK SABBATH has sold over 75 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2006, awarded a Lifetime Ivor Novello Songwriting Award in 2015 and were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
The band has a star on the Broad Street Walk Of Stars in Birmingham, alongside individual stars in their own right, together with a bench in their honor.
In February 2017, SABBATH finished “The End” tour in Birmingham, closing out the quartet’s groundbreaking 49-year career.
“The End” was SABBATH‘s last tour because Iommi — who was diagnosed with lymphoma in late 2011 — can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.
Iommi revealed his cancer diagnosis in early 2012, shortly after SABBATH announced a reunion tour and album. He underwent treatment throughout the recording of the disc, titled “13”, and the subsequent tour to promote it.
The BLACK SABBATH guitarist successfully underwent an operation in January 2017 to remove a noncancerous lump from his throat.
“13” was the first album in 35 years to feature Iommi, Osbourne and Butler all playing together.
Ward was on board for the SABBATH reunion when it was first announced 11 years ago, but backed out soon after. The drummer later claimed that he sat out the recording and touring sessions because of unfair contractual terms, although the members of SABBATH have hinted in other interviews that he wasn’t physically up to the task.
All four original members of SABBATH were present when the band announced its final reunion in late 2011. But Ward split from the group in 2012, citing an “unsignable” contract, and Osbourne, Iommi and Butler carried on with their Rick Rubin–produced “13” LP and extensive international touring without him.
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