The Prado Museum Is Expecting to Lose 70 Percent of Its Income as It Prepares to Reopen With Limited Capacity

The outlook is increasingly bleak for the world’s most famous
museums, as institutions begin to account for the fact that
social distancing will need to continue for the foreseeable future.
In Madrid, the board of directors at the Museo del Prado is
planning for a 70 percent setback in income.

Spain was of the nations in Europe that was hardest hit by the
global health situation, but businesses are slowly creaking back
open. The museum, which is known for its impressive collection of
Old Masters including Las Meninas by Diego
Velázquez, is beginning to work on a multi-step “de-escalation
plan” that will culminate in reopening its doors to the
public. There is no set opening date, and a spokesperson from
the Prado confirms that they are awaiting further information from
the government, and that any dates that are set could be
changed.

On Tuesday this week, the
president of the museum’s board of trustees, Javier Solana,
and the museum’s director, Miguel Falomir, video conferenced with
Spain’s royal family, King Felipe and Queen Letizia, to
discuss the “concerning” financial situation, according
to El País. The
king and queen are honorary trustees of the historic
museum.

In addition to lost income from ticket sales, the 70 percent
projected loss considers missed revenues from its
boutique, cafeteria, catalog sales, audio guides, as well as
space rentals for filming and events. It calculates that it
has lost €1 million ($1.1 million) every two weeks since it was
forced to close on March 12, according to a report
in El País from
early April.

The post The Prado Museum Is Expecting to Lose 70 Percent of
Its Income as It Prepares to Reopen With Limited Capacity
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