On the 22nd of July 2025 Birmingham lost one of its most iconic sons. Ozzy Osbourne, The Prince of Darkness and Godfather of heavy metal passed away at 76. But what he leaves behind is more than just the music, he leaves a lasting cultural and economic impact on his hometown and beyond.
Ozzy was a proud Brummie and his legacy can be seen across the city. When you step off a train at New Street station you are greeted by Ozzy the Bull named for the legend himself after 2,000 names were put forward. Black Sabbath and Ozzy are credited as inventing the heavy metal genre when they started out playing in The Crown Pub on Station Street in Birmingham.
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 Back to the Beginning benefit concert at Villa Park, Aston on the 5th July 2025.
Back to the Beginning
The benefit concert sold out 42,000 tickets in minutes, 20% purchased by international fans. The ticket prices ranged from £197.50 to £834.
To estimate the economic impact of the concert we use the SEIM-UK an econometric multi-regional input-output model that has been used extensively to estimate the economic impact of shocks in the economy. The SEIM has been used to estimate the impact of megaevents such as the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022 (which Ozzy also performed at!).
Considering ticket sales, estimates around inward tourism spending on hotels, transport, food and other discretionary spending we arrive at direct spending of £21 million (Table 1), close to other published figures.
Table 1. Tourism spending estimates
| Per visitor | Total | |
| Average ticket price | £300 | £12,600,000 |
| Average spend on accommodation (overnighters) | £200 | £4,200,000 |
| Other spending day-tripper* | £63.61 | £1,335,810 |
| Other spending overnighter* | £139.49 | £2,929,290 |
| Total | £21,065,100 |
*Estimates are informed by Allan et al., 2017
Assumptions – Visitors are split 50-50 into categories day-trippers and overnighters. Average spend on accommodation is a rounded figure informed by average room rates in high demand times. Average ticket price is a rounded figure in the absence of a breakdown of the tickets sold by price.
The SEIM-UK goes beyond the direct impact of spending associated with an event also capturing the indirect and induced (supply-chain and wage uplift) impacts that are related to initial spending shock. The spending estimates in Table 1 are inputted into the SEIM-UK as a final demand change in corresponding sectors.
Our SEIM analysis suggests that Ozzy’s Back to the Beginning concert contributed £33.8 million in gross economic output across the UK, £27.6 million of which is retained in the West Midlands.
Separately to this there is the £140 million raised for the charities Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice through shares of livestreams and merchandise sales.
Ozzy’s Legacy, Cultural Value and Identity
The impact of the Prince of Darkness is obviously far beyond the financial impact his gigs and TV shows have netted. Ozzy was always an ambassador of Birmingham and in passing becomes a symbol of the cities working class resilience, creativity and ability to reinvent itself. The naming of Black Sabbath Bridge and Ozzy the Bull show the civic embrace of Ozzy that transcends fandom of metal music.
Globally his music and persona have reached legendary status, many artists have detailed the extent of Black Sabbath’s influence and the celebrity tributes have poured out in recent days.
This blog was written by Dr Matt Lyons, Research Fellow and Dr Huanjia Ma, Research Fellow at City-REDI, University of Birmingham.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this analysis post are those of the author and not necessarily those of City-REDI / WMREDI or the University of Birmingham.