Theatregoers evacuated in West End bomb threat

Theatregoers were evacuated from a matinee performance of The Lion King in London’s West End on Sunday after a bomb threat.

The area around the Lyceum Theatre on Wellington Street was taped off as police searched the building. 

In a statement on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said confirmed nothing was found. “Staff have returned and the incident has been stood down,” the spokesperson said.

The police have released no further details about the incident, which occurred at around 4pm. A spokesperson told The Independent that the force doesn’t discuss bomb hoaxes.

Crowds of evacuated theatregoers and passersby waited outside the theatre as the search took place.

“The Lyceum Theatre got evacuated mid-performance yesterday but we managed to meet the Lion King cast in full costume,” one audience member tweeted.

The theatre has yet to release a statement but on Monday another Twitter user who had been evacuated asked the venue, the official Lion King account and Ticket Master whether theatregoers would be refunded or allowed to rebook.

Ticket Master’s customer service account responded to the query asking him to check his direct messages. The company has made no official statement about whether or not audience members should expect to be refunded for their tickets.

Other theatregoers contacted the Ambassador Theatre Group on Twitter to request information about whether or not tickets would be refunded, but did not receive a public response.