Similarly, overcrowding at the Louvre led reception and security staff to go on strike in May last year. The BNF had planned for 80,000 visitors-that number had swelled to 135,068 by the time the show closed on 16 February. Staff also objected to the impact the Tolkienites had on researchers using the library. The throng was so great that library executives were forced to operate ticket booths to shorten the 90-minute queues, according to the Times newspaper. Tolkien that included everything from the author’s work notes to designs for the books’ dust jackets. Their beef centred on the unexpected number of diehard fans of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit who descended upon the BNF to see Journey to Middle-Earth, a 300-piece exhibition on J.R.R. But when staff at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) called a one-day strike in November, it was for a different reason. Over the past two years, France has experienced some of its worst strikes and protests in decades because of the government’s plan to reform the country’s pension scheme. From spiralling insurance costs to visitors with two left feet, we look at the perils that come with being just too popular. Yet despite the public’s enthusiasm for blockbusters, there are downsides. Even so, it may still achieve record attendance. As we went to press the show, which was due to finish in May, was closed until further notice due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And already, thousands have turned up to see Tutankhamun’s treasures in London, despite the hefty £31 full-price entry fee.

Earlier this year 30,000 free tickets to the Louvre’s once-in-a-lifetime display of works by Leonardo were snapped up in just three hours by those desperate to catch the final days of the Paris exhibition-even if it meant opting for a 3am viewing. Blockbusters are often seen as a simple marker of success: the more visitors, the better.

Mo money mo problems year