Crowds make British Museum extend hours

LONDON: London has gone archaeology mad! Exhibitions depicting the lives of two ancient kings are pulling in unprecedented crowds with museums forced to extend their opening hours till midnight.

The arrival of the Chinese Terracotta Army and the adornments of the Egyptian Boy King Tutankhamun in London have triggered such enthusiasm that between them they have already sold over a million tickets.

The Terracotta Army built by Emperor Qin Shihuang, who created the state of China over 2,000 years ago, is on show at the British Museum, unused to such public hysteria. “We were confident that the exhibition would excite the interest of the public, but The First Emperor has exceeded our expectations,” said Neil MacGregor, director the British Museum.

The museum had anticipated that the 120 objects from China would have attracted about 4,00,000 visitors during its seven-month show. However, in just over two months, it has already exceeded this, selling 4,70,000 tickets and the box office receives as many as 180 calls an hour inquiring about bookings. The museum has extended opening hours till midnight to accommodate the rush.

Enthusiasts are braving freezing weather to queue from as early as 5.30 am to get the 500 daily tickets sold at 9.30 am. The museum estimates that with the current opening hours they will sell 7,20,000 tickets. The only exhibition which has outstripped the Terracotta Army’s popularity is the Treasures of Tutankhamun which drew 1.7 million visitors when it came to London in 1972.

The same Tutankhamun exhibition returns to the city — opening at the O2 Centre in East London from today — after 35 years. This exhibition has already sold 4,00,000 tickets in advance of the opening and the final sales are expected to cross a million.