The Art Newspaper‘s annual survey unveils the devastating impact of COVID-19 on museums across the globe, with attendance dropping by 77 percent worldwide.
The 100 top art museums attracted a combined 230 million guests in 2019, compared to just 54 million visitors in 2020 amid COVID-19.
In Europe, 83 million people visited the top museums in 2019, compared to only 24 million in 2020. UK museums experienced a drop of 77 percent in attendance.
The Louvre in Paris, France was the most visited museum last year and had 2,700,000 guests in 2020, a decline of 72 percent from 2019.
Second place was claimed by the National Museum of China in Beijing, which welcomed 1,600,000 visitors in 2020. This is a drop of 78 percent from 2019.
The Tate Modern in London was the most visited museum in the UK, and the third globally. It hosted 1,432,991 visitors, a drop of 77 percent compared to 2019.
In fourth place is the Vatican Museums in Italy, which welcomed 1,300,000 guests in 2020, a drop of 81 percent from 2019. In fifth is London’s British Museum, which hosted 1,275,466 visitors last year, falling 80 percent from 2019.
Top 20 art museums in 2020
-The Louvre – 2,700,000 (72 percent drop from 2019)
-National Museum of China – 1,600,000 (78 percent drop from 2019)
-Tate Modern – 1,432,991 (77 percent drop from 2019)
-Vatican Museums – 1,300,000 (81 percent drop from 2019)
-British Museum – 1,275,466 (80 percent drop from 2019)
-Museo Reina Sofia – 1,248,486 (72 percent drop from 2019)
-State Russian Museum – 1,203,324 (50 percent drop from 2019)
-National Gallery, London – 1,197,143 (80 percent drop from 2019)
-Metropolitan Museum of Art – 1,124,759 (83 percent drop from 2019)
-21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art – 971,256 (63 percent drop from 2019)
-State Hermitage – 968,604 (80 percent drop from 2019)
-Centre Pompidou – 912,803 (72 percent drop from 2019)
-State Tretyakov Gallery – 894,374 (68 percent drop from 2019)
-Victoria and Albert Museum – 872,240 (78 percent drop from 2019)
-Musée d’Orsay – 867,274 (76 percent drop from 2019)
-Museo Nacional del Prado – 852,161 (76 percent drop from 2019)
-Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa – 837,664 (46 percent drop from 2019)
-Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – 790,357 (70 percent drop from 2019)
-National Museum of Korea – 773,621 (77 percent drop from 2019)
-National Gallery, Singapore – 736,132 (59 percent drop from 2019)
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) recently released the attendance figures of its members for 2020.
“Our annual figures for 2020 reflect what a devastatingly hard year the attractions sector and the wider visitor economy faced,” said Bernard Donoghue, director of ALVA.
