Kids & Families

Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of everyone on site, and we are closely following NSW Health guidelines and advice. The Sydney Opera House is registered as a COVID Safe business with the NSW Government. For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you when visiting, please see our plan your visit page.

There are new conditions of entry for audiences attending performances, which you can read here. 

• We strongly recommend that patrons over the age of 12 wear a face mask while attending a performance inside one of our venues.
• As you move around the Opera House, practise physical distancing (1.5 meters whenever possible) and follow the guidance provided by our staff and signage. 
• Within venues, please adhere to our spaced seating plans and always take your allocated seat.
• For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you, please see our plan your visit page.

We strongly recommend that patrons over the age of 12 wear a face mask while attending a performance inside one of our venues. In line with current NSW Health advice, we will not be carrying out temperature checks.  Please be aware that some members of the community may have issues with wearing masks due to health conditions. We ask that you be respectful to others as reasons for not wearing a mask are not always obvious.

Contact information will be required when making a booking with us and upon arrival at the Opera House, in line with our Customer Privacy Statement. Ticket purchasers must keep their own records of persons entering events with tickets they provide for the purpose of contact tracing if required. As the ticket purchaser, you are responsible for recording the contact details of your guests. Contact information will only be used for the purposes of contact tracing, if required, and will be deleted at least 28 days after your event. You are also encouraged to download the COVID Safe app.

In order to maintain physical distancing within venues, tickets will be sold in family groups in your selected seating area with every effort made to keep groups together from within a designated zone. Please bear in mind that this will be subject to the restrictions in place at that time. Your confirmed seating allocation will be provided to you on the day of the performance when you receive your eTickets. To ensure correct capacities, all people in the theatre must hold a valid ticket. This includes babies aged 0-11 months who can be seated on a parents knee with the purchase of a Babes in Arm ticket ($10). Children 12 months and older will need to hold a standard ticket.

Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts. If you have already received your tickets, the venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. It is encouraged that you take your seats as soon as you arrive. 

If you are late, we will seat you as soon as we can and, where possible, in your allocated seat. However, to reduce movement in the venue as well as minimise disruption to the performance and other patrons, ticketholders may be seated in an allocated latecomer’s seat. Please be aware that some events have lock-out periods. In these cases, latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. On occasions, this may not be until the interval, or at all where there is no interval. 

Ticketholders must comply with the directions of Opera House ushers to assist with contact tracing.

Details of our right to refuse admission can be found in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Events.

In line with our venue security procedures, Opera House security will be scanning and checking bags under the Monumental Stairs, prior to entering the building. Bags will be scanned by an x-ray machine, and staff will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling your belongings, such as gloves. Cloaking facilities will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 60 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. However it is strongly encouraged that you travel lightly to minimise contact and queuing. Any bags larger than an A4 piece of paper will need to be checked into the Cloak Room.

Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times. Babies aged 0-11 months at the time of a performance may be seated on a parent’s lap but they must hold a valid Babes in Arm ticket ($10). Children 12 months and older will need to hold a standard ticket.

Children under the age of 12 are not required to wear a face mask.

Baby change table and nappy bins are available in the Accessible public toilets in the below locations. View our map here for more info.

• Western Foyers – close to both the Drama Theatre as well as the Playhouse 
• Lower level of the Concourse 
• Main Box Office accessible toilets 
• Concert Hall Northern Foyer (both Male and Female)

The authorised agencies for this event are Sydney Opera House. Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. RESALE RESTRICTION APPLIES. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.

Please contact Box Office on 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend. If you can no longer attend because you are unwell, or have been in contact with someone displaying COVID-19 symptoms, the Opera House has introduced flexible ticketing options to help you, find out more information here.

Foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars, and should be consumed while seated in designated foyers spaces. For select shows, drinks purchased at our theatre bars can also be taken into venues. Please check specific event information closer to the performance date.

The venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. It is encouraged that you take your seats as soon as you arrive. 

Please bring a credit or debit card for any on site purchases to enable contactless payment. You’re welcome to bring your own water bottle but no other food and drinks are permitted inside our venues. Opera Bar, Opera Kitchen and Portside are also available for you to enjoy.

All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to the foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer adhering to COVID-safe rules.

In February 2020, the Opera House will begin major Concert Hall renewal works to transform the world-famous venue for 21st century performances. You can find out more here.

While the Concert Hall is closed, the rest of Opera House will remain open and vibrant, with unmissable performances and experiences across all other venues and the wider precinct.

Guests may experience some noise in foyers and theatres but we are working hard to minimise disruption associated with these important works.