Andrew Lloyd Webber - Lloyd Webber To Close West End Shows During Olympics

The British composer insists the London Olympics will cause "a bloodbath of a summer" for theatres in the city as advance bookings for his shows are already only "about 10 per cent" of their normal level.

Lloyd Webber insists his biggest musicals such as Phantom of the Opera will continue throughout the summer, but he plans to shut at least three productions during the Olympics.

He tells Bbc Radio 4, "Nobody's going to go to the theatre at all... Most of the theatres in London will shut. It's going to be very tough."

But he's adamant stage shows will flourish in London once the sporting event is over: "They've never been so commercially popular. The appetite for musicals is insatiable in a way. I don't think I've ever had so many musicals being offered to our theatres in London as there are for the end of next year."

Lloyd Webber will reveal the name of the shows to be shut on a later date.