Visitor attendance at the Musée du Louvre shrank by 22% during the 2024 Paris Olympics, which ran from July 27th to August 11th. According to Louvre museum officials, the drop can be partly attributed to increased security measures across Paris during the Games.
Weekly attendance during the Games was 331,759, equating to an average of 23,644 daily visitors, a 22% drop from the same dates in 2023. Attendance was more impacted, however, in the two weeks leading up to the Olympics, during which time there was a 45% drop in visitors. This was due in part to security measures ahead of the opening ceremony and the Louvre’s closure on July 25th and 26th.
“The museum’s attendance, during this period preceding the opening of the Olympic Games, was strongly impacted by the integration of the museum into the security perimeter set up by the authorities during the nine days preceding the opening ceremony, with restricted access to the Seine quays and the closure of most bridges and certain metro and RER [train] stations,” a Louvre spokesperson told The Art Newspaper.
Other museums in Paris experienced similar declines in visitor numbers. On the Seine, the Musée d’Orsay reported a 29% decrease in attendance, while the Musée de l’Orangerie—home to some of Claude Monet’s famous “Water Lilies”—saw a 31% reduction in visitors. Several galleries also reported that they were forced to close unexpectedly due to their close proximity to the opening ceremony. The aforementioned museums, all located near Olympic venues, faced restricted access and fewer visitors, especially as tourists in the city focused on sporting events.
The Louvre’s total visitor count for 2024 so far stands at 5,006,071, marking a 4% decrease from 2023. The modest decline in attendance might also be connected to the museum’s decision in January to raise its ticket price from €17 to €22 ($18 to $24). This follows a notable uptick in attendance in 2023 when the Louvre welcomed 8.9 million visitors—a 14% increase from 2022.
For comparison, this July, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced a resurgence in attendance. The museum welcomed over 5.5 million visitors across its two locations in the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2024. According to the institution, attendance has not only recovered to pre-pandemic levels but has also increased among local New York City visitors and BIPOC groups from the U.S., achieving a 102% recovery rate compared to 2019.
