NML most visited museum outside London in 2018

Blockbuster shows including China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors and Double Fantasy helped make NML the most visited museum outside London in 2018.

Figures released today reveal there were more than 4.1 million visits made to National Museums Liverpool’s eight sites last year.

And the statistics, published by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), also show that Liverpool had three of the four top museums outside the capital.

The 610,000 visitors to World Museum’s China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition catapulted the William Brown Street venue 30 places to make it the most popular museum outside London with 1.4m visits.

The Museum of Liverpool, which is currently staging Double Fantasy: John & Yoko, was placed as the third most visited museum not counting the capital, while the Merseyside Maritime Museum was the fourth with 897, 415 visitors.

The Walker, which staged the John Moores Painting Prize among a number of shows over the year, also had its most successful 12 months since 2008.

Yoko Ono launches Double Fantasy at the Museum of Liverpool. Photo by Mark McNulty

NML director Laura Pye said: “The museums and galleries of National Museums Liverpool are bursting with brilliant objects, incredible stories and memorable moments, and in 2018 we were able to take it to another level with a really vibrant programme, including some exceptional exhibitions.

“We hope to build on this success for 2019 and in the years to come.

"We've just opened Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Making the Glasgow Style at the Walker Art Gallery, which has already welcomed more than 5,000 people, and proving to be another ‘must-see’ exhibition."

ALVA represents the UK’s largest visitor attractions and the 2018 list includes theme parks, zoos and stately homes as well as museums and galleries.

Five NML venues were in the UK’s top 100 visitor attractions 2018: World Museum (23rd), Museum of Liverpool (37th), Merseyside Maritime Museum (43rd), International Slavery Museum (85th) and Walker Art Gallery (92nd).