The UK government says entry to England's national museums will stay free for everyone, tourists included. The right call, or should overseas visitors have to pay?
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said on 28 September that museums must be "free, forever, for everyone", ending months of debate over charging international visitors, which the Hodge review of Arts Council England had recommended. Free entry to the 15 national museums, such as the British Museum, began in December 2001.
What happened
Speaking at an Art Fund event at Tate Liverpool on Monday 28 September, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed that universal free admission to England's 15 national museums will continue. Charging international visitors had been back on the table since the government's response to Margaret Hodge's review of Arts Council England, which recommended it. In July 2024 Mark Jones, then interim director of the British Museum, proposed a £20 fee for overseas visitors. Free entry began on 1 December 2001 and turns 25 this year.
Why people disagree
Supporters of a tourist charge, such as Mark Jones, argue that people on modest incomes pay the taxes while the benefit goes overwhelmingly to tourists, at a time when museums face funding shortfalls, and some sector figures say most visitors would willingly pay. Defenders, including the Museums Association and National Gallery director Gabriele Finaldi, call free entry a major cultural success that lets millions visit and learn, and say fees would put up barriers.
What's still unclear
It is unclear how museums will close funding gaps without fees, whether money from new mayoral tourist taxes will be ring-fenced for culture, and how a tourist-only charge could be enforced. "Free, forever" is a political pledge, not law.
Sources
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