(Credit: Helen Maybanks © RSC)

The Barbican Centre in London has announced that it will close until Dec. 27 at least due to the current impact of COVID-19.

The famed cultural venue has been hosting a number of prominent classical artists over the years. Among the canceled concerts are “Christmas with King’s College Choir” featuring music by Handel and Vivaldi on Dec. 21, and an evening with soprano Jennifer France and the Bach Choir on Dec. 22, 2021.

The Barbican Centre is still scheduled to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 “Choral” on Dec. 28 with Jennifer France, Kathryn Rudge, Luis Gomes, and Morgan Pearse.

The United Kingdom is undergoing a new COVID-19 wave driven by both the Delta and Omicron variants. The country has been logging over 90,000 daily COVID-19 cases, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to consider a circuit breaker lockdown in order to slow down the exponential spread of the virus.