The Royal Festival Hall’s Level 2 foyer spaces are currently being refurbished, as we work to bring you a brand new cafe, bar, shop and Ticket Office. Find out more

Frequently asked questions

Find the answers to key questions you may have about your tickets, group bookings, returns and more, here.

Tickets and concessions

Your e-ticket will be sent to you around seven days before the event date from [email protected] – please check your junk and spam folders as they can sometimes end up in there. It’s worth checking your account to ensure your email address has been spelled correctly. If you have any problems, please get in touch.

Email us

Booking fees apply online (£3.50) and over the phone (£4). Booking fees for Hayward Gallery exhibition tickets are £3 online, £3.50 over the phone. There are no booking fees for Southbank Centre Members, Supporters Circles, Patrons and in-person bookings.

The Southbank Centre relies on booking fees to continue to present culture to the world. The fees go towards the administration of our ticketing department, contact centre and website. The booking fee is charged per booking and not per ticket.

We accept all major credit cards and Southbank Centre gift and credit vouchers. Please do not email credit card details to us.

Each event is different. If you see a blue BOOK FREE TICKET button on the event page, it means that you need to book a ticket, and if the event has reached capacity the button will be grey and say SOLD OUT. There is no booking fee for free tickets. 

If the event says FREE under the title and there is no booking button, you don’t need a ticket and can just show up.

Multi-buy discounts are available for selected events in our festivals and classical season. Your discount amount varies by event series and will be calculated as you add tickets to your shopping basket. The more events, the more you save.

To take advantage of our multi-buy offers, look out for events displaying the multi-buy label.

A limited number of concession tickets with a 25% discount are available for the following:

● recipients of Universal or Pension Credit
● full-time students

In some cases we also offer concessions to under-16s. Please see individual event pages for availability.

Concession tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once they’ve sold out, no further concession tickets are available by any method of booking. 


Concession prices may not be applicable on top-price tickets for certain events. Discounts can’t be combined, and you will be asked for suitable identification. 


There are also separate discounts for members of our Access Scheme

Find out about our Access Scheme

Each event is different, but many do offer group discounts for bookings of ten or more. Just get in touch for more information.

Email us

For many classical music concerts, the individual orchestras organise their own group rates, so you would need to contact them directly.

Find out everything you need to know about our website and ticket terms and conditions.

See our ticket terms & conditions

Yes, Southbank Centre is a member of STAR – the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers. 


STAR operates within guidelines supported by, amongst others, VisitBritain, London & Partners and the Society of London Theatre. As well as working with government and other bodies for the benefit both of consumers and the ticketing industry, STAR offers general advice and information on ticket buying and provides an approved dispute resolution service for customers who have an unresolved problem with their purchase from a STAR member.


STAR has been at the forefront of cross-industry initiatives to improve consumer confidence, make ticket buying safer and combat ticket fraud. Buying entertainment tickets from a STAR member – in person, by phone or online – enables you to buy with confidence. All STAR members sign up to our Code of Practice, which requires them to treat customers fairly and make all transactions clear and straightforward.

 

Returns and exchanges

In some circumstances, tickets can be returned for a credit voucher, valid for one year, or exchanged for another performance. This service is offered to the original purchaser of the tickets only and there is a transaction fee of £3 per ticket.

For shows where the run finishes 14 days or more after the first performance, we will, strictly subject to availability, offer a same show exchange only. Credit vouchers or other exchanges are not available in these circumstances.

All return requests must be made at least 48 hours before the start of the show time originally booked. Under no circumstances do we offer refunds for returned tickets.

The Southbank Centre takes a strong view on secondary ticketing. We may require the lead booker to attend (photo ID may be requested). Tickets can only be sold by the Southbank Centre, or one of our agent partners. 

We try to identify touted tickets and we contact third-person resale sites and ask them to remove the tickets, as resale is against our terms and conditions. 

If you are ever unsure about the validity of any tickets, please contact us and we will do our best to help.

Yes, you can – just get in touch with the team on [email protected]. There is a £3 per ticket administration fee to process any exchanges or seat moves.

In most cases, if your event was cancelled or rescheduled, you are entitled to a refund. You should receive an email informing you of the cancellation/rescheduling with a link to our refund request form.

 

As each order has to be refunded manually, it can take some time to work through. Once your refund has been completed, you’ll receive an email receipt from us. 

We ask that customers allow 28 days, but in reality most refunds are processed much more quickly than this.

Credit vouchers

Redeem your credit voucher online by entering the voucher number in the 'Redeem gift certificate / credit voucher' box at checkout. The amount from your voucher will then be deducted from your total balance. You can also enter more than one voucher number per transaction.

Southbank Centre credit vouchers can be exchanged for tickets to events and exhibitions, as well as selected related items such as books, catalogues and programmes when purchased as an add-on to your ticket on our website. They can also be used for Southbank Centre Memberships. They can't be used in the Southbank Centre Shop or food outlets on-site.

You can use your credit voucher on multiple transactions, until the credit is used up. The redemption code remains the same.

Facilities & venue information

No, we are now cash-free and unable to accept cash payments across our site.

Yes, there's a cloakroom in the Blue Side Foyer, Level 4, Royal Festival Hall. It’s £1 per item, card only. The cloakroom opens about an hour before ticketed events, and closes around 15 minutes after the performance ends. It can be accessed via Lifts 4 & 5, Blue Side, Royal Festival Hall.

Any sized item can be left in our cloakroom, including fold-away bicycles. We don’t accept non-folding bicycles. Items must be collected on the same day they are stored. From time to time, the cloakroom may not be available. You won’t be able to bring any bags over 40 x 25 x 25cm into the auditorium of the Royal Festival Hall or the Queen Elizabeth Hall, or into the Hayward Gallery, so please leave large bags at home.

The Hayward Gallery has its own cloakroom. It’s £1 per item and is for coats, umbrellas and small bags. The Queen Elizabeth Hall cloakroom is closed. 

Items are left in our cloakrooms at the owner’s risk, and we cannot accept any responsibility for loss or damage, from any cause, to these items.

All of our lost property is received by the security team. They'll be able to advise if your item has been handed in.

Email security

Yes. The Southbank Centre welcomes children and families throughout the year. The site is fully accessible to pushchairs and wheelchair users. 

All our venues have public toilets with wheelchair access and baby changing facilities. 

Yes, a multi-faith prayer room is located on Level 1, Blue Side, Royal Festival Hall, offering a quiet retreat for prayer and meditation.

Please ask a member of staff for the door code to access the prayer room.

Yes, we have a huge range of food and drink options available across the Southbank Centre, and all our cafes, bars, restaurants and markets have step-free access.

You are also welcome to bring your own food and soft drinks into the Royal Festival Hall spaces.

More information on our cafes, restaurants and bars

Age recommendations or restrictions can be found clearly stated in the ‘Need to know’ section of each event page. 

Babes in arms and children under seven can't be admitted to classical music concerts and some other events, unless otherwise specified.

We offer a range of flexible spaces to hire, whether you’re hosting an event, a brand activation, a party or a meeting.

Find out about venue hire

Access

To help people with disabilities make the most of the Southbank Centre, we recommend joining our free Access Scheme. You can join through your online Southbank Centre account or via email.

Find out about our Access Scheme

Once you are signed up to our Access Scheme, please log into your account before booking tickets. Discounts will then automatically be applied when you add full-price tickets to your basket.

If you’re a wheelchair user, please select a wheelchair position. This will include entry for both yourself and your companion/carer/personal assistant. 

To book a complimentary ticket for your companion, please add two full-price tickets to your basket. The price of both tickets will be reduced by 50%, giving you two tickets for the price of one. 

If you are a wheelchair user, please select a wheelchair position which includes both yourself and your companion. Please note that wheelchair positions can only be occupied by a wheelchair user.

If you need specific seats – for example, with step-free access, a good view of the BSL interpreter, or easy access to an exit – then please get in touch with our access team.

Email us

You can find information on getting to the Southbank Centre, including Blue Badge parking, step-free routes and public transport connections, below.

Getting here

For more detailed information about getting around the Southbank Centre and our access maps, go to our access and facilities page.

All our Access & facilities information

Our Changing Places toilet is located on Level 1, Royal Festival Hall, next to the JCB Glass Lift, and is available for use whenever the building is open. 

Please use the phone outside the Changing Places toilet to speak to a member of staff, who can provide you with the key.

Royal Festival Hall
Seats have a width of 44cm and a depth of 42cm. The armrests are 49cm apart and 20cm higher than the seat itself. The seat height is around 33cm from the floor.

Queen Elizabeth Hall
Seats have a width of 50cm and a depth of 39cm. The armrests are 46cm apart and 18cm higher than the seat itself. The seat height is around 48cm from the floor.

Purcell Room
Seats have a width of 46cm and a depth of 39cm. The armrests are 46cm apart and 18cm higher than the seat itself. The seat height is around 46cm from the floor.

If you have any questions about the dimensions and sizing of our auditorium seating, please email us

Contact us

If you’re not able to find the answer to your question on this page, please drop us a line, call us on 020 3879 9555 or use our live chat facility (just click on the ‘chat’ icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the page).

Email us

When you need to update information such as your name, email, address or phone number, you can do it yourself by logging into your account. Just click on the ‘Your account’ button in the top right-hand corner of our website and log in. If you have any problems, get in touch.

The team is usually available 10am – 5pm every day, but hours can differ on bank holidays.