Sydney Opera House cancels public performances

The Sydney Opera House has announced the cancellation of all public performances, commencing today until 29 March inclusive, at which point the Opera House will reevaluate based on the latest health advice and developments in the evolving COVID-19 situation.

At this stage, public areas of the site including precinct food and beverage outlets, tours and retail will continue to operate.

Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron AM said:

 This is not a decision we have taken lightly but these are unprecedented events. Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our artists, audiences, visitors and our valued staff.

The Opera House was built to serve the community and it is our responsibility to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of everyone on site and to protect members of the public by limiting the spread of COVID-19.

In difficult times, people look to the arts for inspiration and strength. We will be focusing our programming efforts on how we can continue to inspire and uplift our audiences through digital and other means while our physical stages are not in use.

Patrons affected by the cancellations in the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Drama Theatre, Studio, Playhouse and Utzon Room will be contacted in the coming days to organise refunds.

Louise Herron continued:

We ask patrons to be patient during this process. Our teams are working hard to respond as quickly as possible to the rapidly evolving situation. We will continue to provide updates to our community through the website, social media and other channels.

I would like to thank our staff, artists, audiences and visitors for your support during these difficult and uncertain times. We stand together with you and are committed to doing whatever we can to help support our community as we work through the implications of this together.

For the latest information, please visit the Opera House website.