2020 reflects the changes linked to the gradual shutdown of the activities at the Grand Palais due to the renovation work, but especially those linked to the unprecedented health crisis during which France experienced two lockdowns, the first from mid-March until the beginning of the Summer, a second from the end of October and which was extended by museums being kept closed until 2021. Between these lockdowns, the crowd capacities for museums were restricted and international tourism collapsed. In all, the establishment s net loss was at a historic level of -34.1 million.
This result includes a fall of 37.3 million in turnover for the bookstores and shops compared with 2019. The Grand Palais event organization business was particularly hit by the crisis with a significant number of cancellations or events being postponed. Health restrictions preventing gatherings limited the hold- ing of fairs, shows and fashion events usually hosted in the Grand Palais. Turnover was 5.7 million com- pared to 16.3 million in 2019. Similarly, the activity also suffered a drop in the publishing business with the postponing of part of the exhibitions programme and the related publica- tions and with the closure of bookstores throughout France during the first lockdown. However, 44 new publications were nonetheless released. The exhibition programme for 2020 was revised to take account of the overall consequences of the health crisis. While the profile of the public who vis- it the Grand Palais and the Musée du Luxembourg means these museums are less exposed to interna- tional tourism, the capacity restrictions, social dis- tancing measures and the two lockdowns weighed down on attendance. The production balance of the exhibitions for 2020 was -0.4 million with an overall total of 605,000 visitors across all sites compared to 1.5 million in 2019.
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