Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath‘s “Back to the Beginning” raised more money than any charity concert since George Harrison and Ravi Shankar‘s 1971 Concert for Bangladesh popularized the very idea of an all-star benefit show, according to a review of Billboard‘s coverage over the years.
The heavy metal show, billed as Osbourne’s final stage performance, raised roughly $190 million in charitable donations on July 5, according to an Instagram post from the event’s musical director, Tom Morello. Notably, that was a big jump from the $140 million Morello said the event raised in an earlier Instagram story, but the event’s promoters did not respond to requests for clarification.
According to statements from the group and its charity partners, the concert, watched by 40,000 ticketholders and 5.8 million individuals online, will distribute the funds equally to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorn Children’s Hospice and Cure Parkinson’s — an organization dedicated to finding a cure for the disease Osbourne has lived with since 2019.
Each of those charities said they were able to raise tens of thousands of pounds in additional donations by raffling off tickets to the show, auctioning off iconic art and band photographs donated by Black Sabbath, and through individual contributions from fans as they streamed the show, which took place at Villa Park in Birmingham, England.
While impossible to fact-check so soon after the event, that figure surpasses the amount raised by many of the highest-profile charity concerts of all time, according to a review of Billboard’s coverage over the years. Notably, reports from Billboard and other media outlets have relied on figures provided by people affiliated with these concerts, as promoters are not required to publish the total funds raised or how much is deducted to cover expenses. We will strive to update this list with more and better information as we get it. Email ediltsmarshall@billboard.com with any tips.
Here’s a list of some of the highest-grossing charity concerts of all time, according to each event’s organizers.
