- Title: Louvre Museum prepares to re-open, minus the Mona Lisa melee
- Date: 24th June 2020
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 23, 2020) (REUTERS) PYRAMID ENTRANCE OF LOUVRE MUSEUM SIGN READING (French/English): "THE MUSEUM IS CLOSED. REOPENING ON JULY 6. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING" PYRAMID ENTRANCE WITH EMPTY COURTYARD ROOF OF PYRAMID INSIDE ROPED OFF QUEUING AREA TO SEE LEONARDO DA VINCI'S "MONA LISA" "MONA LISA" QUEUING AREA WITH SIGN READING (French/English): "MONA LISA HAS A GREAT MANY ADMIRERS. PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR VISIT SHORT AND SWEET TO GIVE EVERYONE THE CHANCE TO MEET HER. THANK YOU." (SOUNDBITE) (French) REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE PUBLIC AND SURVEILLANCE DEPARTMENT OF LOUVRE, LEILA CHERIF-HADRIA, SAYING: "People have to book online tickets - they can do it in person but only if there are slots still available - which means we can allow in the number of people we wish. So we have decreased the number of slots we normally accept because we're at 30 percent of normal capacity."
- Embargoed: 8th July 2020 16:26
- Keywords: COVID-19 Louvre Mona Lisa Paris coronavirus lockdown re-opening tourism
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Art,Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001CJQAI4N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The world's most visited museum, the Louvre, is preparing to re-open after a near four-month lockdown, projecting an 80 percent plunge in visitor numbers which the management says makes it the moment to see its masterpieces without the crowds.
The sprawling former palace on the banks of the River Seine in Paris, home to works including the Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, closed its doors in mid-March as part of government measures to halt the spread of COVID-19.
Most of its galleries will re-open from July 6 with customers obliged to book tickets and safety measures including mandatory facemasks and a one-way system through certain rooms.
The museum says time-specific slots will allow it to control numbers at peak periods - most people enter the museum between 9am and 11am - and capacity will be deliberately limited to 30 percent.
But 75 percent of visitors come from abroad and European borders with the top two countries of origin, the United States and China, remain closed, meaning the museum will remain comparatively empty in the summer season where it normally sees a million visitors a month.
The museum's director Jean-Luc Martinez said its sheer size - 45,000 square metres of galleries containing 30,000 works will re-open -- means it will not be hard for visitors to respect physical distancing.
"This museum has large courtyards full of sculptures, large galleries full of paintings, it's not somewhere where you're going to be crushed up against each other," he said.
Martinez said the lockdown had come at a cost: 40 million euros in lost ticket office revenue, cancelled events and shop sales.
But despite the challenging economic climate - he expects the recovery to take up to three years - he said the Louvre's privileged position including an endowment fund and revenue from its satellite in Abu Dhabi meant it would weather the storm.
"This palace is more than 800 years old, the museum has been open for more than 200 years, of course this crisis is an unusual moment, but the Louvre will remain," he said.
(Production: Noemie Olive, Johnny Cotton) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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