Royal Opera House in Covent Garden evacuated as police probe 'suspicious package'

Police later confirmed the incident was a false alarm
Crowds waited outside the Royal Opera House while police investigated a potentially suspicious package
Elliot Vaughn
Tom Powell22 December 2017

Hundreds of audience members were evacuated from the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on Thursday evening after police received reports of a suspicious package.

An announcement was made just as the last act of Rigoletto concluded, ordering theatre-goers to leave the building immediately.

Police said they were called to the central London opera house at 9.39pm and evacuated the building “as a precaution”.

The package was found to be non-suspicious and the incident was stood down just after 10.30pm, allowing audience members back inside to retrieve their belongings.

Many took to Twitter while waiting outside the theatre to praise the “orderly” and “calm” evacuation.

Michael Fabiano, who plays the Duke, said on Twitter that the evacuation was ordered "on the final chord".

He added: "I was able to greet most of the public in my full costume in Covent Garden just after.”

The Royal Opera House said in a statement: “The auditorium was evacuated at the end of tonight’s performance due to a suspect package being found.

“Police have since given the all clear. Thank you to ROH Front of House staff and audience members for the calm and orderly evacuation.”

It came as police investigated reports of a suspicious vehicle at Hyde Park Corner, which was also given the all-clear within an hour.

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