Robbie Williams said he was “gutted” after the Australian Government banned all ‘non-essential’ gatherings of 500 people or more which of course included the F1 Grand Prix.

An announcement about the cancellation read: Following on from the decision of Formula 1 and the FIA, with the support of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) to cancel all Formula 1 activity for the Australian Grand Prix, World Tour’s show on Saturday 14th March with Robbie Williams is cancelled.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people should not take place from Monday in a drastic step to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

It means major venues, including the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall – which holds 2,000 – will have to consider closing.

Meanwhile, NRL games will likely be held without fans. Australia’s cricket series against New Zealand has already banned spectators.

AFL confirmed on Friday afternoon they have made the decision to go ahead with games as scheduled without any spectators despite some players expressing reservations about playing to empty stadiums.

Concert and theatre organisers expressed confusion over the gatherings ban, describing it as vague as their is no time frame on how long the ban will go for.

It comes as the number of cases across the nation soared to 200 – up more than a third in just 24 hours, according to health officials.

The Sydney Royal Easter Show in early April, which has been a yearly fixture since 1823, has also been cancelled.

But the ban will not apply to schools,  universities or public transport, Mr Morrison said.