The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has waded into the debate about introducing admission charges at national museums in London, saying that “art and culture are for everyone—no matter where they’re from, or how much money they earn.”
In an op-ed piece written for LBC, Khan makes the case for free entry, emphasising that “free museums and galleries are a fundamental part of London life”. He highlights that, until 2001, many of the capital’s cultural institutions required visitors to pay for entry. “It wasn’t until the [Labour] government at the time introduced free admission that everything changed,” he says.
The mayor notes that visits to formerly pay-to-enter museums in London increased by approximately 151% in the decade following the change, and that museums have become a “third space” for Londoners.
He also emphasises that, unlike museums in comparable cities like Paris, Rome and New York, “the British model is unique,” writing that “free admission generates about £1 billion every single year in overseas tourism revenue.”
Khan adds: “The economic case for free admission for all is self-evident, but there is so much that it leaves unsaid because the value of museums and galleries cannot be measured in pounds and pence alone. To me, the best argument is even more basic: Britain’s national story is a global story. If that story is to belong to all of us, then so must the places where it is told.”
Khan’s intervention is timely; earlier this year the UK government’s decision to “explore options” on introducing admission charges for overseas visitors at national museums in England sparked debate in the culture sector, with a number of museum leaders opposing the proposal.
The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) re-ignited the discussions around introducing charges for tourists in its response to a review of Arts Council England by the Labour peer Margaret Hodge, who published her recommendations regarding the future of ACE last December.
Some cultural commentators argue nonetheless that tourist fees would plug funding gaps. Mark Jones, the former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, told The Art Newspaper earlier this year: “National museums and galleries are a key part of our tourist infrastructure. But at the moment we struggle, and fail, to provide the funding that they need. Charging overseas visitors for entry—not British residents who have already paid their share—simply recognises that they, as relatively well-off beneficiaries, should contribute.”