Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath delighted tens of thousands of fans in an emotional farewell gig in Birmingham on Saturday (July 5), following a day packed with tribute sets from a star-studded lineup.

Nearly six decades after helping pioneer heavy metal with an eponymous song that enthralled and frightened audiences, Black Sabbath returned to their home of Aston for "Back to the Beginning" at Villa Park stadium.

The one-off gig, with profits going to charity, was billed as Osbourne's last performance, five years after the 76-year-old "Prince of Darkness" revealed he had Parkinson's disease, which has made him unable to walk.

One of music's wildest frontmen, who once chewed off the head of a bat on stage, Osbourne performed sitting on a black throne, at times appearing to tear up before an adoring crowd which lapped up hits such as "Crazy Train".

The gig united Sabbath's original lineup of Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward for the first time in 20 years.

Black Sabbath followed Ozzy's solo set with four of their biggest hits including "War Pigs", "Paranoid" and "Iron Man," all from their second album.

Earlier, over a dozen acts including Metallica, Slayer, Tool and Guns N' Roses paid tribute to Black Sabbath and performed to a sea of fans in black band T-shirts who headbanged, moshed and crowd-surfed in a long day of rock and metal music.