As of today, it has been confirmed that all remaining Royal Opera House events will be cancelled until the end of the season. All activities scheduled up to and including July 23, including tours, Insight sessions, school events and screenings, are affected. A reopening date has yet to be announced.

The news comes in the wake of other major arts venues worldwide announcing closure until the summer at the earliest – these include, also in the UK, Scottish Opera and Opera North, and, elsewhere in Europe, Royal Swedish Opera, Finnish National Opera and Paris Opera.

The Royal Opera House has promised to contact all ticket buyers to discuss the options available to them, from donating all or part of the value of their tickets or holding them as credit towards future purchases, to receiving a complete refund. Those who have tickets to cinema screenings have been advised to contact the cinema directly.

While the Covent Garden-based landmark remains closed, the Royal Opera House continues to offer a range of free, online content for all ages, courtesy of two innovative programmes. The first, OurHouseToYourHouse, incorporates weekly production broadcasts on Facebook and YouTube from The Royal Ballet, The Royal Ballet School and The Royal Opera as well as ‘House Music’, episodes featuring Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano in which he plays and discusses some of his favourite pieces from the opera repertoire. The second programme, Create and Learn, provides home-learning opportunities for children and young people, with new activities, challenges and courses added every Friday.