The Economic Impact of Back To The Beginning on Birmingham, England

While the total amount raised for charity is still unknown, there are new figures available to show that Back To The Beginning brought in a significant sum to the local economy around Birmingham, England.

According to the BBC, the University of Birmingham crunched the numbers and determined the epic show headlined by the final performance of the original Black Sabbath lineup brought in £33.8 million ($45.72 million USD) in gross economic output in the UK. Of that amount, £27.6 million ($37.33 million USD) remained in the West Midlands area.

Dr. Matt Lyons, who led the effort from the University of Birmingham, said in a statement, “As regional economists from the University of Birmingham, we thought we would do our bit to honour Ozzy’s legacy by estimating the economic impact of his last gig. The impact of the Prince of Darkness obviously goes far beyond the financial impact his gigs and TV shows have netted. Ozzy is a global legend, and his gift of incredible music, and now his final economic impact, will go on to benefit his home city far into the future.”

As previously reported, Tom Morello, who served as the musical director for Back To The Beginning, shared via Instagram that the event raised over $190 million. About a week later, Billboard reported that the figure meant Back To The Beginning was the highest-grossing charity concert in history.

However, Sharon Osbourne told Pollstar, ” … One of the things that’s frightening me is all this false press about [how], we’ve made $140 million and all of this, and I’m like, ‘God, I wish we could have, for one gig.’ It’s just ridiculous, the different stories. I went on the internet the next morning, and it was like, $140 million, $160 million. And I’m like, ‘Where does this stuff come from?’ And people like ‘Billboard’ have printed it.”

As for what the event actually grossed, Sharon didn’t have an answer during the interview. She noted, “It takes a really long time, because we’ve had all of the bands that we had come in and their expenses, and it’ll take a good six weeks to get the final number. Because we’re selling merch for another two weeks from the gig. So, we’ve got another two weeks of sales yet to add to it. It’ll be another four weeks, and it’ll be done.”