Mercury Prize cancelled: The music ceremony was canceled shortly after the Queen’s death was announced

The Mercury Prize was canceled after news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death broke.

Spectators sat in their seats waiting for the annual ceremony to begin when Buckingham Palace announced the Queen had died peacefully at Balmoral, aged 96.

Organizers told the crowd gathered at London’s Eventim Apollo that they had decided to cancel the ceremony “in light of the sad news”.

The event was scheduled to start an hour after the news was announced. Earlier in the day, organizers canceled the planned red carpet.

Messages displayed on screen read: “Given the sad news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen. We are sorry to inform you that we will not be able to continue tonight’s event as planned.

“Mercury Prize will be communicating with guests and viewers in the coming days. We thank you for your understanding during this difficult and sad time.

It went on; “Dinner will not be served, we would be grateful if you could finish your drinks and we will close the venue at 7.30am. Thank you again for your understanding.”

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain in Balmoral tonight and return to London tomorrow.”

Sam Fender, Little Simz and Harry Styles are among this year’s nominees. It is not yet known when the event will take place.