Thousands visit as Museum of London closes
Over 78,000 people visited the Museum of London in its final month at London Wall before it closed in early December after 45 years, marking the end of an era. The Museum saw over 13,000 people coming in to celebrate its final music weekend on December 3 and 4 , making it the Museum’s busiest weekend ever.
The Museum was open for 24 hours from Saturday 3 to Sunday 4 December for the first time in its history. This allowed visitors one last time to visit the museum’s free exhibitions Harry Kane: I want to play football and Grime Stories: from the corner to the mainstream, as well as star objects; from the Selfridges Art Deco lift to Tom Daley’s swimming trunks; Roman Bucklersbury Mosaic to the 2012 Olympic Cauldron. Other final festivities included London’s biggest table football competition, DJ sets from Sisu and a late-night cinema festival and Q&A with director Gerard Johnson.
Visitors woke up with yoga in the morning of December 4 and said a final goodbye during a ceremony with London’s legendary historical characters to kickstart the museum’s journey to its new home.
The museum will reopen at West Smithfield under a new name – The London Museum. It will welcome its first visitors to a festival curated by Londoners in late 2025 and open to the public in 2026.
The Museum of London Docklands will remain open to visitors throughout and will become The London Museum Docklands from January 2023.