Villa Park — Attraction in Birmingham

Went here for the Back to the beginning concert recently. This is not a review of the concert it is a review of the grounds themselves! The concert was amazing, long live Sabbath 🤘

The review: Getting into the stadium was a faff, I was in the Doug Ellis stand and had to go to one of the P entrances, the one I happened to queue up at there was a problem with getting the gate open which delayed our line entering for about 25 minutes and we were told tojoin another queue which I was reluctant to do because I was near the front of this one, but then about 5 minutes later they opened up the doors so everyone who had left was basically screwed over as the other queues were very long to get in.

The whole stand that side is very narrow, the stair wells are narrow, the hallways are narrow... it is a genuine nightmare trying to navigate it once everyone is inside. The bar queues were obscene so I didn't bother (over an hour for some people), which became an issue when the only 2 water coolers ran out and were not replenished by staff, as the only way to then get drinking water was to spend hours in the queues. They also ran out of hot food at about 6pm, the options of which had been very limited anyway (basically if you had any dietary requirements you were screwed) so going hungry until afterwards or some overpriced chocolate was basically your only opinions as you couldn't leave to get food from outside.

One of the biggest issues was the toilets though. Half of the men's toilets have no stalls, so if you need one, you have to trek to one end of the stand or the other. To top it off, the ones near my end in block P2 broke, flooding the bathroom, not even 2 hours into the event (which started at 1pm and went until 10.30pm!)

This meant that when I needed a stall at around 5.30pm, I had to fight my way through the ridiculously packed corridor and stand in a queue for nearly 20 minutes behind five other blokes to use one of only 3 men's stalls still available in the entire stand. Genuinely horrendous, and the staff seemed pretty unbothered when we asked if the other ones were going to be fixed.

Overall I would not recommend attending a concert here from a services perspective, I think anyone with mobility needs may struggle unless you have accessible seating as navigating it was tough even for an able-bodied person, and generally it was just stressful trying to get any food/drink/go to the loo.

Just about the only good thing I can say about Villa Park was that the seats were not quite the worst I have experienced as a larger guy (still pretty cosy though compared to the QE stadium in Stratford for example) and they weren't charging £9 for a beer unlike some other venues I have been to recently cough...

An Epic Farewell to Metal at Villa Park ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was at Villa Park in Birmingham this past Saturday, July 5th, 2025, for “Back to the Beginning” — the farewell concert of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. It was a historic celebration that brought together over 40.000 people to honor the legacy of Heavy Metal and the roots of Birmingham, the birthplace of the band.

The event started around 1 PM and turned into a true musical marathon that lasted over 10 hours. A rotating stage, incredible lighting, flawless sound, and a high-level production made it clear that this was not just another concert — it was a definitive and well-deserved farewell to one of the greatest bands rock has ever seen.

The lineup was massive: Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax, and Mastodon all delivered killer performances. Guns N’ Roses, Tool, and Rival Sons also played, along with a special supergroup featuring legends like Billy Corgan, Duff McKagan, Slash, David Draiman, Fred Durst, Jonathan Davis, Jake E. Lee, K.K. Downing, Lzzy Hale, Mike Bordin, Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian, Tom Morello, Wolfgang Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Sleep Token, and Papa Emeritus. A true all-star tribute.

There were also video tributes from celebrities like Jack Black, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Ricky Gervais, and Jason Momoa — who also hosted the event. Every moment was charged with emotion and deep respect for Ozzy and Sabbath’s legacy.

Ozzy came on stage around 9 PM, sitting on a custom bat-themed throne due to the progression of his Parkinson’s. Despite his condition, he delivered emotional renditions of classics like "Crazy Train" and "Mama, I'm Coming Home." He was then joined by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward for a final, thunderous performance by Black Sabbath. They played four absolute anthems: “War Pigs,” “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man,” and “Paranoid.” The crowd exploded.

The concert was also a charity event, raising around £140 million for organizations including Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice.

As for Villa Park: the venue handled the event superbly. Entry was well-organized, access routes were clearly marked, security was present but never overwhelming, and the structure comfortably supported a massive crowd and complex logistics.

This was a farewell worthy of the legend. A closing ritual. A full stop written in thunder.

Thank you, Birmingham. Thank you, Villa Park. And most of all: thank you, Ozzy and...

One of the great traditional football stadiums left in England and hold 42,700. It has three modern stands and one stand from the 1970s called the North stand. The ground has been on the site since 1897 and is a wonderful site when approached from Aston Hall end approaching the Holte End. Before the Holte end was an all seater facility it was once the largest capacity single stand situated behind the goals in Europe. The Holte end now is a two tier structure and has a huge concourse for supporters as well as holding The Holte suite function room, where season ticket holders can gain access free before games. In the Holte suite you have two bars and the. Lub offers food which is reasonable priced and is normally a choice of 4 or 5 dishes. It has free WiFi and 3 large screens plus a numerous regular screens around the bar area. Plenty of tables and seats are set up to eat and drink with about 10 per tabl, so nice place to keep out the cold before the game.

For away supporters they are located at one end of the ground lower and upper part of the Doug Ellis stand depending on allocation taken up. The supporters are located towards the North stand end of the ground and they give teams just under 3000 allocation due to segregation. Food is served and prices are on a par with other non London grounds and is clean and tidy with screens to watch the match prior to kick off or sky sports news or past encounters. The upper concourse is smaller and cramped and is an adventure getting up the stairs. So if you struggle with the stairs purcasea seat in the lower tier.

Getting to the ground you can come by train as two stations are close to the ground Aston and Witton stations. Witton is the closest and only a couple of mins walk away. If you turn left out the station and walk up to the roundabout, you then turn left onto Witton Lane and you will see the stadium. If you drive it is mostly street parking but be mindful some streets are for residents only. The postcode for the sat nav is B6 6HE.

If you want a programme they are sold around the stadium and will cost £3.50

For the Kids if it is a Saturday games usually the club puts on a fun zone with activities for the kids and you will also have a bar and TV screens in the Gordon Cowans suite which is in the same building...