Sharon Osbourne on the return of Ozzfest: ‘We’re gonna do it’

Sharon Osbourne has said Ozzfest will “absolutely” return, with the blessing of the late Ozzy Osbourne.

The festival began life in October 1996 as a two-day event, before becoming a huge tour and continuing nearly every year until 2018.

The last date in 2018 took place in New Year’s Eve at The Forum in Inglewood, California, featuring performances from Rob Zombie, DevilDriver, Marilyn Manson and a headline show from Ozzy himself.

Now, Sharon – Ozzy’s long term manager and widow – has confirmed that the metal festival will return next year.

Speaking at the MIDEM (The Global Meeting for Music Industry Leaders) 2026 conference in Cannes, France, last month, Sharon was asked if Ozzfest would be returning.

“Yes, absolutely. We’re gonna do it,” she replied. “The last one we did was 2018. It was just a month before Ozzy got sick, and that was at the Forum in LA. There [were] no plans to stop it. We were still gonna do it, but Ozzy couldn’t. And Ozzy and I would talk about it, and he’d say, ‘Do you think Ozzfest would work without me?’ And I’m, like, ‘Yeah, it’s a brand. It will work without you.’ And he said, ‘We should do it.’”

Sharon previously discussed the return of Ozzfest in January and said it could even return in 2027.

“It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people,” she said. “We really started metal festivals in this country. It was [replicated but] never done with the spirit of what ours was, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids.”

Over the weekend, the BRIT Awards 2026 closed with a special tribute to the late rock icon, fronted by Robbie Williams.

Williams and former members of the late metal icon’s live band – Adam Wakeman, Robert Trujillo, Tommy Clufetos and Zakk Wylde – performed the 1991 track ‘No More Tears’ in honour of the Black Sabbath legend, who died last year.

Introducing the tribute, a message was shown to fans in Manchester, where the awards were being held for the first time, from musician Dolly Parton in Nashville.

Parton said: “What an incredible life to celebrate. Ozzy Osbourne dedicated his entire life to music and his legacy has left a permanent imprint in the fabric of music lovers everywhere. Now talk about stealing the show. Ozzy knew how to get your attention with his love of theatrics, his musical gifts – he could turn any occasion into a full blown show – and at his very core Ozzy Osbourne was a showman.”