As a result of the hostage situation that came to a tragic end in the Sydney CBD earlier this morning, Sydney Opera House management decided to cancel the three performances scheduled for the venue last night, including a planned appearance from Blur frontman Damon Albarn.

“In light of the situation in the CBD today, we have decided to cancel tonight’s performances at the Opera House. This is to minimise pressure on transport networks and to provide as much notice as possible to staff and patrons,” read a statement from Opera House management.

The performances affected included the Australian Ballet’s The Nutcracker in the Joan Sutherland Theatre, the Sydney Theatre Company’s Switzerland in the Drama Theatre, and Albarn’s performance in the Concert Hall as part of his Everyday Robots tour.

According to the statement, Albarn has agreed to reschedule two of his performances to accommodate the changes. The show planned for last night (Monday, 15th December) will now take place at 7pm tonight (Tuesday, 16th December), while a performance originally set to begin at 8pm tonight will now start at 9:30pm.

Updated information regarding refunds and exchanges for each of the affected events is available via the Sydney Opera House website. Those who had tickets to last night’s Albarn performance can find more information here.

Readers can view statements from Albarn and Sydney Opera House management below.

Post by Sydney Opera House.

Post by Damon Albarn.

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