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| British Museum has best spring ever | British Museum has best spring ever |
| (3 months later) | |
| The British Museum has had its most successful spring on record, due in large part to the blockbuster Pompeii and Herculaneum show, which is on course to be its third most popular exhibition since it opened its doors in 1753. | The British Museum has had its most successful spring on record, due in large part to the blockbuster Pompeii and Herculaneum show, which is on course to be its third most popular exhibition since it opened its doors in 1753. |
| The show has already attracted more than 287,000 visitors, double its projected number, and by the time it closes on 29 September it is expected to be one of the British Museum's most popular exhibitions, after Tutankhamun in 1972 and the Chinese terracotta warriors in 2007. | The show has already attracted more than 287,000 visitors, double its projected number, and by the time it closes on 29 September it is expected to be one of the British Museum's most popular exhibitions, after Tutankhamun in 1972 and the Chinese terracotta warriors in 2007. |
| Another 35,000 people will have seen the show, described by the Guardian as "undoubtedly one of the most momentous archaeological exhibitions ever staged", in British cinemas, a first for the museum. | Another 35,000 people will have seen the show, described by the Guardian as "undoubtedly one of the most momentous archaeological exhibitions ever staged", in British cinemas, a first for the museum. |
| The film of the exhibition, Pompeii and Herculaneum Live, will be shown in more than 1,000 venues in 51 countries later this summer. | The film of the exhibition, Pompeii and Herculaneum Live, will be shown in more than 1,000 venues in 51 countries later this summer. |
| The museum reported that 1.7 million people had visited since 1 April, with the number of visitors in May up 42% on the same month last year. | The museum reported that 1.7 million people had visited since 1 April, with the number of visitors in May up 42% on the same month last year. |
| It was Britain's most popular visitor attraction for the sixth year running in 2012, with 5.6 million people entering its colonnaded portals despite the competing attraction of the Olympics, said its chairman, Niall FitzGerald. | It was Britain's most popular visitor attraction for the sixth year running in 2012, with 5.6 million people entering its colonnaded portals despite the competing attraction of the Olympics, said its chairman, Niall FitzGerald. |
| The other big draw last month was the Ice Age Art exhibition, which, although it did not find a commercial sponsor, was described as a runaway success with 90,000 visitors, outstripping expectations by more than 130%he economic impact of the museum is not in question," said FitzGerald, with one in 10 overseas tourists to the UK and one in four visitors to London visiting it. "More important is its creative and intellectual contribution." | The other big draw last month was the Ice Age Art exhibition, which, although it did not find a commercial sponsor, was described as a runaway success with 90,000 visitors, outstripping expectations by more than 130%he economic impact of the museum is not in question," said FitzGerald, with one in 10 overseas tourists to the UK and one in four visitors to London visiting it. "More important is its creative and intellectual contribution." |
| He described the 5% funding cut expected in this week's comprehensive spending review as "not negligible", especially as funding had already been cut by 24% over the course of the current parliament. The museum's director, Neil MacGregor, said that staff had not yet analysed how the effects of the cut would be absorbed when it takes effect in 2015, but it was a "material squeeze". | He described the 5% funding cut expected in this week's comprehensive spending review as "not negligible", especially as funding had already been cut by 24% over the course of the current parliament. The museum's director, Neil MacGregor, said that staff had not yet analysed how the effects of the cut would be absorbed when it takes effect in 2015, but it was a "material squeeze". |
| The museum has successfully attracted other sources of income in recent years, including private donors. Research funding in particular has risen 30-fold over the past decade, and the museum now raises £6 for every £4 it receives from the government. | The museum has successfully attracted other sources of income in recent years, including private donors. Research funding in particular has risen 30-fold over the past decade, and the museum now raises £6 for every £4 it receives from the government. |
| Next spring it opens its new £135m exhibition and conservation centre with a show devoted to the Vikings that would change the way we think about our history, MacGregor said, noting that England was at the centre of a Viking network that spread from the Black Sea to Dublin. The centre, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, is still as much as £20m short of its fundraising target but FitzGerald said he was confident it would be fully funded by the time it opens. | Next spring it opens its new £135m exhibition and conservation centre with a show devoted to the Vikings that would change the way we think about our history, MacGregor said, noting that England was at the centre of a Viking network that spread from the Black Sea to Dublin. The centre, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, is still as much as £20m short of its fundraising target but FitzGerald said he was confident it would be fully funded by the time it opens. |
| MacGregor said the museum had lent items to 69 British institutions over the past financial year and was the world's leading lender of objects internationally, despite receiving no state funding for such activities. It has also helped acquire and repatriate objects that had been stolen from Afghanistan's national museum and smuggled into Britain. | MacGregor said the museum had lent items to 69 British institutions over the past financial year and was the world's leading lender of objects internationally, despite receiving no state funding for such activities. It has also helped acquire and repatriate objects that had been stolen from Afghanistan's national museum and smuggled into Britain. |
| The British Museum is also advising on a new museum planned to open in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in 2014, but both MacGregor and FitzGerald expressed caution about the institution being regarded as a branch of British soft diplomacy. "We may be called the British Museum, but we think of ourselves as of the world and for the world," FitzGerald said. He cited the recent loan to Tehran of the Cyrus Cylinder to Tehran – recording , which records the Persian king's granting of religious freedoms after his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC. "Had we asked the Foreign Office's advice, it would almost certainly have been not to do it. But it started a debate in Iran of which we have perhaps seen a small reflection in the recent elections." | The British Museum is also advising on a new museum planned to open in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in 2014, but both MacGregor and FitzGerald expressed caution about the institution being regarded as a branch of British soft diplomacy. "We may be called the British Museum, but we think of ourselves as of the world and for the world," FitzGerald said. He cited the recent loan to Tehran of the Cyrus Cylinder to Tehran – recording , which records the Persian king's granting of religious freedoms after his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC. "Had we asked the Foreign Office's advice, it would almost certainly have been not to do it. But it started a debate in Iran of which we have perhaps seen a small reflection in the recent elections." |
| Forthcoming exhibitions include shows devoted to pre-Columbian gold, and sex in Japanese art, and an exhibition for 2014 that MacGregor said would focus not on the centenary of the first world war but on "what sense of the past people brought with them" when Germany reunified in 1989. | Forthcoming exhibitions include shows devoted to pre-Columbian gold, and sex in Japanese art, and an exhibition for 2014 that MacGregor said would focus not on the centenary of the first world war but on "what sense of the past people brought with them" when Germany reunified in 1989. |
| The British Museum's biggest hits | The British Museum's biggest hits |
| 1. Treasures of Tutankhamun, 1972: 1.7 million | 1. Treasures of Tutankhamun, 1972: 1.7 million |
| 2. First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army, 2007: 855,000 | 2. First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army, 2007: 855,000 |
| 3. Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum, 2013 (projected ranking) : 287,572 after three months4. The Vikings, 1980: 450,000 | 3. Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum, 2013 (projected ranking) : 287,572 after three months4. The Vikings, 1980: 450,000 |
| 5. Hadrian: Empire and Conflict, 2008: 255,000 | 5. Hadrian: Empire and Conflict, 2008: 255,000 |
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