In a January 2026 interview with Billboard, Sharon Osbourne revealed that she was planning to relaunch Ozzfest, the popular heavy-metal festival that featured her late husband, Ozzy, or his band Black Sabbath as the headliner.
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Now, Sharon has confirmed plans for the return of Ozzfest. During the latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast, she and her son, Jack, shared the news and discussed details about the resurrection of the hard-rocking extravaganza.
Jack noted that there was “exciting news” to announce before Sharon declared, “Ozzfest [is] coming back!”
She explained that the festival will be difficult to put together quickly, “since you have to plan these things two years up front.” Sharon then revealed that they are looking at relaunching Ozzfest in 2027. She reported that she’s hoping to a plan a two-day event at the Villa Park soccer stadium in Ozzy’s hometown of Birmingham, U.K. The venue, of course, was where the star-studded Back to the Beginning concert that featured Ozzy’s and Black Sabbath’s final performances was held on July 5, 2025.
Sharon also shared that she wants to organize a similar two-day festival somewhere in the U.S. in 2027.
She noted, “We want to hear from everyone where we should go in America.”
Jack then piped in, “Yeah, and who you want to see on it.”
Sharon added, “Yeah. And also … we got to find a lot of young new talent, because that’s what [Ozzy] would want.
She also revealed that if the 2027 events are successful, Ozzfest then might return as a touring festival in 2028.
Sharon Shared Who She’d Like to Perform at Ozzfest in 2027
Meanwhile, Sharon mentioned on particular artist she’d like to perform at Ozzfest in 2027.
“I want to see [Judas Priest frontman] Rob Halford there,” she said.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Jack offered.
Sharon then asked her son if he followed Halford on social media. After Jack told her he did, she commented, “I mean, he comes up with the best lines. He’s just the best.”
“Yeah, he really is,” Jack added. “He’s a great guy.”
Judas Priest took part in the 2004 Ozzfest tour. On August 26, 2004, Halford famously joined Black Sabbath to fill in for Ozzy at an Ozzfest performance in Camden, New Jersey, when the Metal Madman took ill.
Sharon and Jack Reflected More on Relaunching Ozzfest
Commenting on the plan to bring Ozzfest back, Jack said, “Why not? I mean, we did it better than anyone.”
Sharon added, “It was more fun. When you go to other festivals, everybody’s so uptight. But that was always the thing about our festival. There was never anybody jockeying for position or thought they were better than anyone else. It was summer camp.”
Jack then mentioned, “Well, there was one year where that happened,” to which Sharon responded, “Iron Maiden. Yeah. But you know, whatever. Bless ’em.”
Iron Maiden was one of the headliners for the 2005 Ozzfest tour, alongside Black Sabbath.
About Ozzfest’s History
During the 1990s, Sharon tried to get Ozzy on the bill of the Lollapalooza festival, but she was rebuffed. This prompted her to create her own, heavy-metal-leaning festival, and Ozzfest was born.
The first Ozzfest performances were held was held in October 1996 in Phoenix, Arizona and San Bernardino, California. Ozzfest then became an annual touring festival from 1997 through 2007. In 2008, a one-off Ozzfest show was held in Frisco, Texas, followed by another Ozzfest tour in 2010.
After that, Ozzfest was generally became a one- or two-show event held annually in one city. The final Ozzfest to date took place on New Year’s Eve 2018 in Inglewood, California. Ozzy and his solo band headlined that event.
The new Ozzfest undoubtedly will serve to honor the legacy of Ozzy Osbourne. The Prince of Darkness died in July 22, 2025, after years of poor health. He was 76.
(Photo by John Shearer/WireImage for Live Nation)
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