Sharon Osbourne says Back to the Beginning raised just over £8 million for charity – far from the £140 million some quoted
We’ve all heard that Black Sabbath’s grand farewell show raised a lot of money for charity, but it didn’t rake in nearly $200 million, despite some early claims. In fact, Sharon Osbourne has revealed the final figure to be closer to $11 million. Still not a drop in the bucket, mind.
While Ozzy Osbourne’s late wife called the inflated claims “ridiculous” from the start, the latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast sees Sharon sharing exactly how much money was raised. “It raised 11 million, [minus] the cost [to put on the gig],” she explains [via Blabbermouth]. “We paid the cost of bringing everybody in, the accommodation, everything.”
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She also clarifies that, despite the amount of high-profile artists appearing, “no one got paid” to be there. “Nobody asked for a penny,” she explains. “They gave their time, their efforts, everything for free. People were just so generous.”
While Sharon notes that it would have been incredible to have raised $190 million, the team were more than pleased with the amount earned. “It was nowhere near [$190 million], and I wish that it was, but we are living in reality, in the real world,” she says.
According to Billboard and the BBC, the original $190 million figure began circulating after the event’s director, Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, mentioned it in an Instagram post following the concert.
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Of course, Black Sabbath’s final show would also serve as a farewell to Ozzy himself, with the metal legend passing away just weeks after. Elsewhere in The Osbournes Podcast episode, Sharon and her two children, Jack and Kelly Osbourne, reflect on how the world responded to Ozzy’s death. “So many people have reached out to us,” Sharon says. “It’s just been overwhelmingly wonderful… I just want everybody to know that everything that has been sent to us we’ve read, and we appreciate it.”
“The outpouring of love has been so helpful to us,” she continues. “I never could have even imagined it to be as helpful as it has been, knowing that we are not alone in our grief and our sadness. The rest of the world loved him as much as we did.”
“I haven’t seen an outpouring like that since Princess Diana died – I didn’t expect it!” Kelly chimes in. She later adds that the love truly came from everywhere, nothing “it wasn’t just the heavy metal community, it was the entire world” sharing their condolences and tributes to the Prince of Darkness.
You can watch the entirety of the latest Osbournes Podcast episode below.
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