The Louvre collection contains more than 500,000 works of art
According to information published by the Louvre administration, the number of museum visitors increased by 25% over the year. Most of them are tourists from the USA, China, Brazil, and the European Union.
Thanks to the increase in attendance, the museum's revenues rose by 15 million euros. As Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez said, this money will help compensate for the reduction in state subsidies and will allow the purchase of new paintings: the museum's management spends about 20% of the funds received from ticket sales on the acquisition of works of art.
In an interview with radio station Franceinfo, Jean-Luc Martinez noted that the growth in attendance at the Louvre may be linked to the opening of the museum's branch in Abu Dhabi, as well as the filming of a Beyoncé and Jay-Z music video in the exhibition halls. In the video, which YouTube users have watched more than 140 million times, the famous musicians pose against the backdrop of works of art, including Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and the statue of the Winged Victory of Samothrace. According to the Louvre director, after this, people started talking about the Louvre "all over the world."
As RFI notes, the Louvre set its previous attendance record in 2012, when the museum held special exhibitions of works by Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. Then, over 12 months, the administration managed to sell 9.7 million tickets.