Black Sabbath given the freedom of the city of Birmingham ahead of final concert

Black Sabbath have been given the freedom of the city of Birmingham ahead of their final gig.

The band’s huge farewell concert, dubbed ‘Back To The Beginning’, will be held at Villa Park in Birmingham on July 5. It’ll see frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward perform onstage together for the first time in two decades.

Ahead of their huge finale, the metal legends have been given the freedom of the city of Birmingham, with all four original band members presented with scrolls and medals by the Lord Mayor.

The honour was given at a private ceremony on Saturday (June 28), which recognised the band’s significance as heavy metal pioneers from the city.

During the ceremony, Butler called Birmingham “a great working-class city” and said people used to make fun of the band’s accents. “We weren’t given a chance when we started out, but Birmingham has always been behind us.”

Osbourne later shared a memory of his late father going into debt to buy him a microphone, saying he thought he would be very proud. “I first put an advert in a music store in town,” he said. “If these guys hadn’t come to my door, I wouldn’t be sitting here now.