Virtual Louvre receives over 10 million visits
The 10.5 million virtual visits recorded in the 71-day period between March 12 and May 22 compare to the 14.1 million visits made throughout 2019.
Although the date when the largest museum in the world will reopen is yet to be defined, and it is hoped that this will happen during the summer, the Louvre teams are focused on making numerous resources available in English on a weekly basis, since most of the The museum’s regular customers are Americans, who outnumber the Chinese.
There was a peak of visits during the first weeks of confinement, with an average of 330,000 visits, with 90% of the visitors being non-French speakers, against the current 77%.
Between March 12 and May 22, 16% of visits originated in France, below the United States’ 17% share.
The combination of the smartphone and social networks enshrines the triumph of the virtual image and the great museums have no other option but to explore in the best possible way these means to make themselves known to a wide audience, at home.
Thanks to #LouvreChezVous, #CultureChezNous or #MuseumFromHome, Louvre’s social media accounts gained 302,500 followers and are now followed by 8.83 million people.
The Instagram account is particularly popular, having progressed very quickly: it has already exceeded four million followers, which makes the Louvre the museum of ancient art with the largest number of followers on this platform, according to the institution.
It was on Instagram that Louvre officials joined the challenge launched by Getty and other museums for followers to recreate at home, using everyday objects, scenes from their favorite works of art.
The virtual visit to the Sala das Cariátides, in Louvre, has also been successful on social networks, as well as the podcasts “The Odisseias do Louvre” (for the age group between 7-12 years), launched in partnership with the chain French radio station France Inter and which consist of ten episodes about the main mysteries, works or figures of the museum.
