To make our terms easier to follow, we have arranged them into the following sections. Depending on what you buy, more than one section of these terms will apply:
- Ticket Sales – these terms apply if you buy tickets from us.
- Gift & Credit Vouchers – these terms apply if you buy gift cards or receive credit vouchers from us.
- Membership – these terms apply if you buy membership such as becoming an ENO Friend, American Friend of ENO, or ENO Opera Circle Supporter
- Goods and Services – this section will apply if you buy goods, merchandise or digital subscriptions from us.
- General Terms – these will apply to everything you buy from us and there are some differences if you are a business customer rather than a consumer.
By buying a ticket or tickets (including with a gift or credit voucher) to an ENO Opera, an ENO event or an English National Ballet (ENB) performance at the London Coliseum (in either case, a Performance) either through our website, in person at the London Coliseum Box Office (Box Office), by phone, or through the website of an officially authorised agent, you accept these terms together with our General Terms will apply.
All tickets for these Performances are sold by London Coliseum Limited acting as our agent. London Coliseum Limited is our wholly owned subsidiary and its profits support our work.
If you buy tickets for an ENB performance at the London Coliseum we act as agent for ENB and ENB’s terms and conditions will apply. If there is any inconsistency or conflict between ENB’s terms and these terms, then ENB’s terms will prevail.
We are a member of the Society of Ticket Retailers and Agents, and we subscribe to its Code of Practice which may be accessed at www.star.org.uk
About your tickets
You must present a valid ticket for entry to the relevant Performance. Tickets not sold through us or an officially authorised agent are not valid. Tickets are only valid when full payment has been made for them. We are not responsible for lost or stolen tickets.
Our ticket prices include any applicable booking fees and our building levy.
Tickets purchased through our website can be printed at home or stored on your phone or tablet. Tickets bought in person or on the phone from the Box Office are generally emailed to you, but they can be collected. We do not post or deliver tickets.
If you buy a ticket at a concessionary price (as compared to the standard ticket price), we may require you to provide proof of identity and evidence of entitlement to the concession before admission.
Transferring your tickets
Tickets may not be transferred, nor may they be resold for commercial purposes. We reserve the right to refuse entry to any ticket holder if we have good reason to believe that the ticket has been transferred or resold in breach of this condition.
If you wish to change your ticket(s) to a different Performance, we may be able to help. Please contact us in good time. We will charge an administrative fee for this if we can help.
Purchase Restrictions
You must not create or use multiple accounts with the purpose or intention of circumventing any of these terms or concealing your identity or other personal details. Nor must you use our website or your account (together the Ticket Services) for any unlawful purpose or in any unlawful manner. If we discover or suspect that you have used or are using or attempting to use the Ticket Services in such a way that a criminal offence has been, is being, or might be committed, we are required by law to report your identity and details of such activity to the relevant authorities (and any principal party where we act as agent).
We reserve the right to terminate your account and/or cancel any of your orders and/or prohibit you from making future orders or using the Ticket Services in future if: any abusive or threatening behaviour is carried out by you or on your behalf or via your account; we suspect any fraudulent activity or other illegal activity is carried out by you or on your behalf or via your account; we suspect any unauthorised use of your account or other unauthorised activity is carried out by you or on your behalf or via your account; we are ordered to do so by any legal or regulatory authority; and/or you otherwise breach these terms or any other applicable policies or terms and conditions.
Changes to a Performance or your seats
Tickets are sold subject to our right to make any change to the advertised programme, cast or running times. A change to the cast, including the principal artists, is not a substantial change and will not be a reason for a refund or exchange.
We will only consider refunding tickets if the Performance is cancelled or substantially changed prior to the date of the Performance. The refund will not include any expenses. The request for a refund must be made promptly and before the date of the performance.
We reserve the right to provide alternative seats to those specified on the ticket. We will do our best to ensure they are of the same or higher value than those you bought.
Late arrivals at a Performance
Latecomers will not be admitted to the auditorium unless and until there is a suitable break, so admission cannot be guaranteed. Please arrive in good time for the Performance.
Access
Ticket holders may only leave and re-enter the auditorium during a Performance at our discretion. Please do not obstruct gangways, access-ways, exits, entrances or staircases; congregate in non-designated areas; or seek entry to seating areas or seats for which you do not hold a ticket.
Children
Children under the age of five are not permitted to enter the theatre unless a Performance expressly permits this.
If you are accompanying children under the age of 16: (a) you must be over 18; (b) you must sit next to them and ensure their good behaviour throughout the Performance; and (c) we may require you to remove your children from the theatre or Performance if we consider that they are disruptive to the Performance. To be clear, children under the age of 16 will not be admitted without an accompanying adult who is at least 18 years old.
If any other age restrictions apply for a particular Performance, we will make this clear and advise of such age restrictions on our website prior to completing your order for the purchase of tickets.
It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian of children attending a Performance to make their own judgement as to the suitability of a Performance for their own child, regardless of any age recommendation. This should be done before buying any tickets for children.
School groups must always be accompanied and supervised by a minimum of two adults. For groups of 20 children there should be a minimum of three adults, for 30 children a minimum of four adults and so on. Schools are responsible for the safeguarding of those in their charge and should follow the school’s safeguarding policy and risk assessments. Should you require further H&S information for your visit please contact the Box Office.
Licensing
The London Coliseum is regulated by its premises licences, issued by Westminster City Council under the Licensing Act 2003. This means some activities, such as the supply of alcohol, may require us to ask for photographic ID to verify age. We reserve the right to refuse the service of alcohol to any person who is unable to provide such photographic proof or to refuse the right of entry to the event if it is not age appropriate.
Prohibited Conduct
The following is prohibited in the theatre:
- the use of recording equipment of any kind;
- the use of mobile phones, pagers, digital watches, laser pens or any other electronic equipment, which must be disabled at all times;
- smoking or the use of e-cigarettes;
- food and drink purchased from anywhere other than our bars or our other outlets; or
- violent or disruptive behaviour.
Phones should be turned off before the Performance commences.
Any photographs, film, recordings or other media made in breach of this condition are liable to be confiscated and/or deleted. Any unauthorised photograph, film, recording or other media shall belong to us.
If you do not comply with the instructions and directions given by our staff or if you engage in any of the above prohibited conduct or if, in our reasonable opinion, your conduct poses a risk to the safety of the audience and/or you, affects the enjoyment of the audience or affects the running of the performance, we can request that you and your guests leave the theatre and we will take appropriate action to enforce such right without refund.
Abusive behaviour to staff and others
Physical or verbal abusive or threatening behaviour or other anti-social behaviour towards our staff, or members of our audience, is offensive and unacceptable. Any such incident will be investigated, and appropriate action taken. We reserve the right to remove people who engage in such behaviour from the theatre.
If you are attending an event and someone is acting in an intimidating, aggressive or threatening manner, please speak to any member of our staff.
Filming
As you might expect we often film/record or allow others to film/record Performances. You or your guests, therefore, may incidentally be filmed/recorded as part of the audience. Should you or your guests feature in film footage or a recording in more than an incidental way – perhaps because you or they are interviewed – we will seek your/their consent to being included in, and to the commercial exploitation of, the relevant film footage and recordings. You can find further detail about how we will hold and use your personal data in our Privacy Notice.
Safety
Ticket holders must comply with all safety announcements and regulations whilst attending the Performance. If you, or those for whom you have bought a ticket, have any concerns about special effects which may be featured in a Performance, you should make appropriate enquires with the Box Office before ordering tickets. Special effects may include, amongst other things, sound, audio visual, pyrotechnic or lighting effects such as gun shots, dry ice or strobe lighting.
We do not recommend subjecting children to very loud music over a sustained period. Hearing protection is advised for loud concert type events and is advisable for any other events where loud music is involved. A concert environment is not suitable for very young children.
Loss or damage to your property
We do not accept responsibility for the loss or damage to any of your personal property whilst at the theatre unless this is caused by our negligence.
If any lost items should be handed in, the duty manager will hold these for a reasonable time after the Performance. If they are not reclaimed, we will dispose of them as we consider appropriate (having regard for the nature of the item, and the environment).
When you buy a gift voucher from us or we issue a credit voucher, you accept that these terms together with our General Terms will apply. We only issue gift and credit vouchers for ENO Operas and they are issued by London Coliseum Limited acting as our agent.
Gift vouchers.
You can buy gift vouchers from our website or at the Box Office.
A gift voucher is valid for a maximum period of 24 months from the date of its issue, following which it expires automatically and cannot be used.
Credit vouchers
We may issue credit vouchers instead of a ticket exchange or refund. Some credit vouchers have limitations on their use; for example, they may only be valid for specific productions. Subject to those limitations a credit voucher is valid for no more than 24 months from the date of its issue. Once invalid it cannot be used.
Other terms relevant to gift & credit vouchers
We may credit gift and credit vouchers to your online account.
We are not responsible for stolen or lost gift or credit vouchers.
You cannot exchange them for cash, nor can you use them to buy any other products or another voucher.
We reserve the right to cancel any voucher if we believe (in our absolute discretion) that the relevant voucher is being used fraudulently, or in an unauthorised or illegal manner.
When you buy a membership subscription, including becoming an ENO Friend, an ENO Opera Circle Supporter or an American Friend of ENO, these terms together with our General Terms will apply. Some of our memberships are sold by our subsidiary, London Coliseum Limited, acting as our agent.
A large proportion of each membership subscription is a donation, and this element is treated as non-refundable once payment has been made. The remaining part is a service.
The benefits of each type of membership and the details of how much of the subscription is a donation are set out on our website. Payment can be made either on-line through the ENO website, over the phone by calling the ENO Development Office on 020 7845 9241, or in person at the London Coliseum Box Office. Once you have paid for your membership (or gifted membership to someone else) it will last for 12 months. With some memberships we will send you a with your name, membership number and the date your membership expires. If you are paying for your annual membership by monthly direct debit and you fail to make a payment, we can cancel your membership from that date.
Some memberships such as Under 21s or Under 35s are free and details about their benefits and restrictions can be found on our website.
When you buy goods or services such as digital content, from us you accept that these terms together with our General Terms will apply. Please note that goods and services sold though the London Coliseum shop and its associated website, and food, drink, merchandise and programmes sold in the London Coliseum, are sold by London Coliseum Limited under its terms and conditions which can be found here, although merchandise for some productions is sold by London Coliseum Limited as agent for the merchandise supplier.
We take care to ensure our product descriptions, for example, price and availability are accurate. However, there may be some variations.
You can find everything you need to know about us, English National Opera, and our products on our website (with our Website Terms of Use) or from our staff before you order. We also confirm the key information to you in writing after you order, either by email or in your online account.
Ordering from us
You must provide current and correct contact details when you place an order with us. We will not be able to contact you without these.
We contact you to confirm we’ve received your order and we accept it when we dispatch or supply the product, subscription or ticket and confirm that to you.
Sometimes we reject orders, for example, because a product or Performance is unexpectedly sold out, because the product was mispriced by us, or because we reasonably suspect unlawful activity. If this happens, we let you know as soon as possible and refund any sums you have paid.
If you are paying a subscription, such as for digital content, and/or you haven’t paid in full for a product or ticket and the VAT rate changes we will adjust price you have to pay to reflect that new VAT rate.
You will own a product or ticket when we have received payment in full (unless it is a subscription when you will have the right to view or listen to digital content for as long as you continue to pay the subscription).
If you are buying a subscription from us, such as to digital content, we tell you during the order process, when and how you can end an on-going contract with us and confirm this to you in writing after we’ve accepted your order. We can stop providing an ongoing service such as a subscription for digital content. We let you know at least one month in advance if we are going to do this and will refund any sums you’ve paid in advance for services that won’t then be provided. If we suspend an ongoing service for technical or other reasons, we won’t charge you during the period of suspension and you can cancel the agreement if the suspension lasts more than 3 months.
If our supply of your product, subscription or ticket is delayed by an event outside our control, we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and do what we can to reduce the delay. We won’t compensate you for the delay but if it is likely to be substantial you can contact us to end the contract and receive a refund.
Business customers
You are a business customer if you are buying products wholly or mainly for use in connection with your trade, business, craft or profession, even if you are an individual. We warrant that on delivery any products which are goods shall conform in all material respects with their description and any relevant specification; be free from material defects in design, material and workmanship; be of satisfactory quality (within the meaning of the Sale of Goods Act 1979); and be fit for any purpose held out by us. Otherwise, we exclude all terms implied by sections 13 to 15 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and sections 3 to 5 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
If you are a business customer, the applicable sections of these terms constitute the entire agreement between us in relation to your purchase. You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise, representation, assurance or warranty made or given by us or on our behalf which is not set out in these terms and that you have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation or negligent misstatement based on any statement in the contract with you.
Consumers
You are a consumer if you are not a business customer. We honour our legal duty to provide you with products that are as described to you on our website and that meet all the requirements imposed by law. For information about your legal rights please visit the Citizens Advice website www.citizensadvice.org.uk. See also Right for consumers to cancel.
Returns of faulty or misdescribed products
For consumers we have a 30-day return policy for products if they are faulty or not as described provided you have not used or damaged the products. This does not affect any other rights you may have at law. For further details about your legal rights please visit the Citizens Advice website www.citizensadvice.org.uk.
You must contact us first, within 30 days of delivery, and we will let you know how and where to return them. They must be returned promptly after this. Please keep evidence of posting. Alternatively, you can arrange with us to return the product in person.
We only provide refunds to the original purchaser and for that reason we may require proof of purchase. We only provide refunds for the following goods if they are faulty: personalised items or items made to order, perishable items, newspapers and magazines, and unwrapped CDs and DVDs.
We will refund the price you paid, plus the cost of delivery and return. If you would like a replacement, you can discuss that with us. We will make any refund by the method you used for payment.
If there is a problem with a service, please tell us straight away and we will rectify the problem.
If you are a consumer (as opposed to a business customer) you also have the legal right to change your mind and cancel the contract with us if you bought on-line, by post or over the phone. This right does not apply to an order for tickets; digital products after you have started to download or stream these; services that have been completed; goods which have a short life-span, such as flowers; products sealed for health protection or hygiene purposes or sealed audio or video recordings or sealed computer software once these products are unsealed; goods that are made to order or are personalised; or goods which become mixed inseparably with other items after their delivery.
You should contact us to let us know you want to change your mind. The deadline for doing this is no later than 14 days after the date of delivery of goods, or the date we confirm we have accepted the order if it is services (although you can’t change your mind about digital content once you have started streaming it).
You must return the goods with a copy of your order to us (we will tell you where and how to do this when you contact us) at your own cost and the goods have to reach us within 14 days of you telling us you have changed your mind. You should keep a receipt or other evidence from the delivery service that proves when, how and where you sent the goods to us. If you don’t do this and we don’t receive the goods at all or within a reasonable time we won’t refund you the price. Alternatively, you can arrange with us to bring the product to our store at the London Coliseum. You will need to bring your order receipt and the card you paid with.
We will refund the price you paid for goods and our standard delivery charges (but not any extras such as express or timed delivery or import duties or other such charges). We will refund you by the method you used for payment. We may reduce the amount of your refund if you have used or damaged the goods, to compensate us for their reduced value. In some cases, no refund may be due because of the way you have treated the goods. If you are cancelling a service, we will only refund the unused part.
Our liability to consumers
If you are a consumer we’re responsible for losses you suffer caused by us breaking this contract unless the loss is:
- It was not obvious that it would happen and nothing you said to us before we accepted your order meant we should have expected it (so, in the law, the loss was unforeseeable).
- Caused by a delaying event outside our control. As long as we have contacted you as soon as possible to let you know and done what we can to reduce the delay.
- Something you could have avoided by taking reasonable action. For example, damage to your own digital content or device, which was caused by digital content we supplied and which you could have avoided by following our advice to apply a free update or by correctly following the installation instructions or having the minimum system requirements advised by us.
- A business loss. Our liability for any loss you suffer in connection with your trade, business, craft or profession is limited, as described in Our liability to businesses.
Our liability to businesses
If you are a business, nothing in these terms shall limit or exclude our liability for:
- death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors (as applicable);
- fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
- breach of the terms implied by section 12 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 or section 2 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982;
- defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987; or
- any matter in respect of which it would be unlawful for us to exclude or restrict liability.
Subject to the above we shall not be liable to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss of profit, or any indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with any contract between us; and our total liability to you for all other losses arising under or in connection with any contract between us, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall be limited to the total sums paid by you for products under such contract.
Governance
These terms are governed by English law.
If you are a consumer then, wherever you live, you can bring claims against us in the English courts and if you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring claims against us in the courts of the country you live in. If you are a consumer, we can claim against you in the courts of the country you live in.
If you are a business, you irrevocably agree to submit all disputes arising out of or in connection with our contract with you to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
Other important terms that apply to our contract
How we use any personal data you give us, or we collect from you, is set out in our Privacy Notice.
We can transfer our contract with you, so that a different organisation is responsible for supplying your product. We’ll tell you in writing if this happens and, if you are a consumer, we’ll ensure that the transfer won’t affect your rights under the contract.
You can only transfer your contract with us to someone else if we agree to this.
Nobody else has any rights under this contract. This contract is between you and us. Nobody else can enforce it and neither of us will need to ask anybody else to sign-off on ending or changing it.
If a court invalidates some of this contract, the rest of it will still apply. If a court or other authority decides that some of these terms are unlawful, the rest will continue to apply.
Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. We might not immediately chase you for not doing something (like paying) or for doing something you’re not allowed to, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it later.
How to contact us
If you have any questions, please contact us on our Contacts page and we will be happy to help you.
English National Opera
May 2025