In total, the tribute exhibition to Princess Grace, conceived by Frédéric Mitterrand and staged by Nathalie Crinière, attracted nearly 135,000 visitors in the Principality of Monaco this summer, breaking the record for a Monegasque exhibition, more than double the attendance recorded during the 2004 exhibition devoted by the Grimaldi Forum to “Imperial Saint Petersburg,” which was previously the highest score.
On Sunday evening, Mr. Jean-Claude Riey, President of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, wished to thank and reward the final visiting couple who came from nearby Roquebrune Cap Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Didier Bailly.
If we analyze the origins of the visitors in more detail, we note that beyond the 16,000 Monegasque residents — half of the Monegasque population — the exhibition was viewed by as many French as foreigners. Among the nationalities most attracted by the Grace Kelly myth, Italians lead by far (30,000 in total), followed by the British (8,000) and Americans (5,000). On the French side, the top visitors were naturally the inhabitants of the Alpes-Maritimes (23,000), ahead of Paris and its region (8,000) and the Var (3,000).
The Grimaldi Forum Monaco now invites all lovers of beautiful and grand exhibitions to make a date for next summer’s theme: “Queens of Egypt,” from July 12 to September 14, 2008, which will explore these wives, mothers, or daughters of pharaohs who influenced three thousand years of Egyptian history. They are named Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Nefertari, or Hatshepsut… And it is Christiane Ziegler, Honorary General Curator of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre Museum, who will be the curator for this exhibition rich with more than 200 masterpieces from the greatest Egyptian, American, and European museums.
