Our most successful year ever

The Museum of Liverpool's first birthday celebration in July was just one of the events that brought in crowds in 2012

Museums in Liverpool are the most popular in England outside London, according to the 2012 visitor figures issued by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA).The Museum of Liverpool attracted more than 1 million visitors, and was the most visited museum in England, outside of London. This wasn't the only success story though. The number of visitors to the Walker Art Gallery increased by 40%, mainly due to the exhibition ‘Rolf Harris: Can you tell what it is yet?’ The International Slavery Museum saw a 9% increase and visitor numbers to the Lady Lever Art Gallery increased by 7%. Dr David Fleming, Director National Museums Liverpool, said:

"In 2012 National Museums Liverpool had our most successful year ever, with more than 3.3m visits. We attract more people now than we did during Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture five years ago, and nearly five times as many as a decade ago. We are thrilled that the Museum of Liverpool is the country's most visited museum outside of London. We are equally thrilled that it has been awarded the Council of Europe Museum Prize for 2013, proving that the Museum's success has been noticed internationally. Our museums and galleries are exciting and emotional places to visit - that's the secret of our success. We want our venues to inspire and educate, and also be fantastic for families. Across all our museums we like to try new things and reach new audiences. The big challenge is maintaining this success when public funding is shrinking."