Louvre workers strike as museum declared world’s most popular

It’s once again been declared the world’s most popular museum, but that may not be a good thing for the Louvre in Paris.

The museum broke its own record in 2018, welcoming a whopping 10.2 million visitors and claiming the top spot in an index of the world’s most-visited museums.

But the Louvre’s uptick in visitors is proving too much for many of its workers, and strikes by reception and security staff over the number of tourists flooding through its doors have hit opening hours throughout the week.

“The Louvre is suffocating,” the workers’ union said in a statement. “The public has increased by more than 20% since 2009, (but) the palace has not grown,” it added. “Today the situation is untenable.”

The museum was closed on Monday and opened later than advertised on Wednesday, due to a meeting with the disaffected workers. Visitors have queued outside the building throughout the week, and those without bookings have been turned away.

But as tensions with its workers rumble on, the museum’s bottom line is looking healthy.

The Louvre broke its 2012 attendance record last year, marking a dramatic recovery from a sharp downturn in visits in 2017 that was attributed to a general plunge in tourism in Paris.

The social media buzz around Beyoncé and Jay Z’s music video filmed at the museum may have played into that spike, authors of the 2018 Museum Index say.

The report, published by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and the Economics practice at AECOM, also highlights the success of an exhibition of the work of Eugène Delacroix – the most popular temporary exhibition in the Louvre’s history.

But while visitor numbers rose at the Louvre, overall attendance was relatively flat among the top 20 museums in the world last year, according to the TEA Museum Index.

Attendance grew among the top 20 by just 0.1% from 2017 to 2018. The top museums collectively welcomed 108.1 million visitors last year.

The National Museum in China, the world’s second most popular museum, drew nearly 8.6 million visitors in 2018, a nearly 7% increase.

Rounding out the top five are The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (No. 3); Vatican Museums in Vatican City (No. 4); and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC (No. 5).

World’s most popular museums in 2018

20. Nanjing Museum, China: Located in China's Jiangsu province, Nanjing Museum is the No. 20 most visited museum in the world, according to the 2018 Museum Index from the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM. See the world's top 20 museums in descending order:

19. National Museum of American History, Washington: The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is home to more than three million artifacts, including puppets from "The Muppet Show."

18. National Palace Museum, Taipei: Taiwan's impressive palace museum is home to a collection of ancient Chinese artifacts.

17. Reina Sofía, Madrid: This Spanish museum is home to more than 20,000 works spanning the time period from the late 19th century to the present.

16. Victoria & Albert Museum, London: A world leader in art and design, the V&A opened a new courtyard and entrance in 2017.

15. Zhejiang Museum, Hangzhou, China: Zheijiang Museum welcomed 4.2 million visitors in 2018, marking a more than 14% increase from 2017.

14. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg: Founded in 1764 to house a collection acquired by Russian Empress Catherine the Great, this museum is home to more than three million works of art and cultural artifacts.

13. China Science Technology Museum, Beijing: This innovative museum drew 4.4 million visitors, a more than 10% increase.

12. National Gallery of Art, Washington: The National Gallery of Art's sculpture garden is a popular spot on the National Mall. The museum has more than 130,000 works tracing the development of Western art.

11. National Museum of Natural History, Washington: This Smithsonian museum houses more than 126 million specimens and cultural artifacts, including 30 million insects and 400,000 photographs.

10. American Museum of Natural History, New York: Founded in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History explores human cultures, the natural world and the universe.

9. Natural History Museum, London: The Natural History Museum has 80 million specimens dating from the formation of the solar system to the present day -- a period of 4.5 billion years.

8. National Gallery, London: The National Gallery is home to one of the world's greatest collections of paintings, spanning the major traditions of Western European painting.

7. Tate Modern, London: Since its opening in 2000, Tate Modern has welcomed more than 40 million visitors. A new iteration of the modern and contemporary museum opened in 2016.

6. British Museum, London: Founded in 1753, the British Museum was the first national public museum in the world. It is home to the Rosetta Stone and many other significant artifacts and works of art.

5. National Air and Space Museum, Washington: A Smithsonian Institution museum, the National Air and Space Museum's holdings include historic aircraft and spacecraft.

4. Vatican Museums, Vatican City: The Vatican Museums feature art and cultural artifacts gathered by popes over the centuries.

3. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Founded in 1870, the Met's collections span more than 5,000 years of art from around the world, including monumental exhibits from Egypt.

2. National Museum of China, Beijing: The world's most popular museum in 2016, the National Museum of China ranked second in 2018 with 8.6 million visitors.

1. Louvre, Paris: After dropping to No. 3 in 2016, the Louvre has been the world's most popular museum for two years running. Attendance was up a whopping 26% from 2017, with 10.2 million visitors in 2018.

Top 20 museums around the globe for 2018

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1. Louvre, Paris, France

2. National Museum of China, Beijing, China

3. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States

4. Vatican Museums, Vatican City

5. National Air and Space Museum, Washington, United States

6. British Museum, London, United Kingdom

7. Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom

8. National Gallery, London, United Kingdom

9. Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom

10. American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States

11. National Museum of Natural History, Washington, United States

12. National Gallery of Art, Washington, United States

13. China Science Technology Museum, Beijing, China

14. State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

15. Zhejiang Museum, Hangzhou, China

16. Victoria & Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom

17. Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain

18. National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

19. National Museum of American History, Washington, United States

20. Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, China