Dame Kiri upset by dusty Pavilion

Sources informed the Observer the award winning diva had refused to rehearse before the show due to some of the fine dirt being present in the main auditorium. Pavilion officials confirmed yesterday that Dame Kiri did leave her warm up early, but took the situation "in good humour."

Despite the setback, more than 900 people enjoyed a successful concert in aid of the Chichester Cathedral Restoration and Development Trust.

Concert-goers have remarked on the quality of the event.

Dame Kiri also joked with her audience about an amusing incident when a pigeon landed on stage in front of her, earlier in the day.

A De La Warr Pavilion spokesperson said: "She didn't like the dust during rehearsals.

"What we have done is obviously tried to clean up as much as possible, but as is inevitably the case, there is still some dust in the building."

The spokesperson confirmed further cleaning was done before the performance and continuing building work was to blame.

They added: "Kiri was great. She knew she wasn't coming to the Albert Hall. She had a sense of humour about things and made light of it.

"The pigeon incident I think will go down in the legend of the De La Warr Pavilion. During the rehearsal a pigeon had found its way through the windows that had been taken out and flew down on to the stage.

"Luckily Kiri had a sense of humour and made light about it with the audience later.

"The show was fabulous, we were more or less full and over 900 people had a really good time and told us how wonderful the building looked."

The absence of a stage door entrance meant Dame Kiri and the English Chamber Orchestra had to enter the building through a front entrance.