France’s world-famous Louvre Museum is to reopen in early July nearly four months after closing for the coronavirus outbreak as it embarks on an overhaul in the lead up to the 2024 Olympics that will build on the legacy of the lockdown.
Jean-Luc Martinez, who heads the world’s most visited museum, said all of the Louvre’s collections would be going online next year after traffic on its website rose tenfold as the world was stuck inside during the global pandemic.
The Louvre will also push for “cultural democratisation” in an effort to rid itself of its supposed elitist reputation, with works being made more accessible with improved presentation, labelling and curating.
Mr Martinez admitted that the Paris museum could “intimidate” certain demographics but insisted he wanted this to change.
The Louvre director, who comes from a working-class background, said he wanted to build on the outreach success of the Louvre's outpost museum in Lens, a poor former mining town in northern France.
The news follows the reopening of Louvre Abu Dhabi on June 24.
"We need to be ready in 2023/2024 for the Olympic Games, with longer hours and more rooms open," Mr Martinez said.
There will be more storytelling and scene-setting in both French and English, he added.
Before the pandemic the Louvre had about one million visitors per month, three quarters of whom were foreign visitors.
Mr Martinez conceded that numbers would drop sharply but said the Louvre’s 45,000 square metres of galleries containing 30,000 works meant social distancing could be respected.
“It’s not somewhere you’re going to be crushed up against each other,” he said.
The lockdown cost the Louvre about €40 million (Dh165m) in lost ticket revenue, cancelled events and shop sales but Mr Martinez said the museum would bounce back.
“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.
Visitors will be required to book a time slot to visit the museum and wear a mask if over the age of 11. Hand sanitiser will be provided at the two entrances that will be open and one-way systems have been installed.
Most collections will be open including Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, and introduction to Islamic art.
EU citizens under 26 already enjoy free access to the Louvre, but the museum is introducing a free 20-minute mini-visit this summer in an attempt to lure Parisians back inside.
Elsewhere, Eiffel Tower on Thursday welcomed back visitors after the coronavirus outbreak forced the Paris landmark into its longest period out of action since World War Two.
Strict hygiene and safety measures have been put in place for the re-opening.
