Beyoncé And Jay-Z Helped Boost The Louvre To A Record Number Of Visitors

L'IMPACT.

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

It was one of 2018's most memorable music videos, and now the Louvre says Beyoncé and Jay-Z's "Apeshit" is also partly responsible for the famed Paris museum welcoming a record number of visitors last year.

Some 10.2 million people visited the museum in 2018, about 25% more visitors than in 2017, officials at the Louvre announced Thursday. That's the most visitors ever to any museum in a year.

The museum's staff credited the huge boost in visitors to the recovery of tourism in Paris after the 2015 terror attacks, as well as a big exhibition devoted to Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix.

But they also paid credit to the Carters.

"Elsewhere in the world, interest in the Louvre was bolstered by the Louvre Abu Dhabi (which recently celebrated its first anniversary)," Louvre staff said, "and by Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s 'Apes**t' video, with its tribute to some of the museum’s greatest artworks."

The video, which dropped in June, featured the couple in front of the museum's most iconic pieces, including Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," Jacques-Louis David's "The Coronation of Napoleon," and the ancient Greek statue "Winged Victory of Samothrace." Jay-Z also rapped in one scene in front of the famous glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei in the museum's exterior.

[Read more: Here's Everything You Probably Missed In Beyoncé & Jay-Z's "Apeshit" Video]

The video, directed by Ricky Saiz, was shot in May at the Louvre at night when it was closed to visitors.

The music video has since been viewed more than 147 million times on YouTube and received a nomination in the Best Music Video category at the Grammys.

Louvre officials said there was also a significant rise in the number of US visitors to the museum in 2018, as well as tourists from China, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the UK.

Topics in this article

Skip to footer