A much-loved London museum is set to close indefinitely as it struggles to battle through the pandemic.
Visitor experiences across the world are battling to weather the storm against COVID 19 – with the Florence Nightingale Museum falling victim of its heart-breaking implications.
Founded just shy of 40 years ago and celebrating the life and achievements of the heroic nurse, the Museum had hoped to open through January, thanks to generous support and grants from Art Fund, Arts Council England and National Heritage England.
However, London being put into Tier 4 restrictions and the new national lockdown imposed on January 6 came as a devastating blow to the museum, which made the decision to close indefinitely.
Originally, the visitor experience, housed as St Thomas Hospital was set to close February 28 for the foreseeable future.
The museum has stated the decision has been made to protect its collections and institution for the long term. A statement read: “If changes are not made now, the Museum will become financially insolvent before markets recover and visitors return in significant numbers.”
A traumatic year
Problems for the Florence Nightingale Museum rose in March 2020 when England was placed into its first national lockdown due to a surge in COVID 19 cases.
The blow came as the attraction was preparing for the 200-year celebrations since Florence Nightingale’s birth, which was expected to be a super busy period for the Museum.
Through forced closures, the Florence Nightingale Museum has enriched its offsite offerings including a YouTube series
The forced closure reaped significant financial losses, which sees admission and gift shop sales account for 98 per cent of their income.
The Central London attraction was able to reopen between August and November. However, due to months of closure and reduced capacity in place The Florence Nightingale Museum struggled to cover its operations costs of around £20,000 a month.
Offsite experiences available
The lights maybe temporarily out at the Florence Nightingale Museum, however curators of the attraction have designed offsite offerings to keep visitors busy.
Florence Nightingale in 200 Objects, People & Places is a new exhibition available online, along with plenty of videos and digital quizzes.
The public have also been urged to support the museum by purchasing exclusive memorabilia from their online shop and donate what they can to keep the Lady in the Lamp legacy alive in the future.
Elsewhere, a new restaurant and entertainment complex is set to open at the Mall of America.
