The year that just ended set a record for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao thanks to the 1,324,221 people who visited it (35,074 more than in 2022). In total, 1,152,072 people came from outside the Basque Country. This is an exceptional achievement bearing in mind that in other successful years like 2017 and 2022 (the twentieth and twenty-fifth anniversary of the Museum, respectively), tens of thousands of Basque people came free of charge thanks to the commemorative “Opening to the Region” and “Denontzako BBKArtea para todos” initiatives.
As a highlight, in 2023 the Museum has recovered the number of pre-pandemic foreign visitors. They now account for 60% of total visitors (10% more than in 2022). By percentages, 16% of the total public came from France, 7% from Germany, 6% from Great Britain, 6% from the United States, and 4% from Italy. Within Spain, most visitors came from the Basque Country, which accounts for 13% of the total, followed by 5% from Madrid and 5% from Catalonia.
One of the Museum’s main public attractions in 2023 was its ambitious, diverse art program. The exhibitions on display this past summer stand out for the number of visitors they attracted. They were Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now, sponsored by Iberdrola; Oskar Kokoschka. A Rebel from Vienna, sponsored by the BBVA Foundation; and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. No Twilight Too Mighty. Plus, the current exhibitions, Picasso Sculptor. Matter and Body, which ends on January 14, and Gego. Measuring Infinity, which ends on February 4 and is sponsored by Occident, are also welcoming a good number of visitors given the season.
On the digital front, the website recorded a total of 3,218,545 visits in 2023, with 13,009,948 pages visited. In the social media, the Museum is continuing to increase its influence, with 841,767 followers on Instagram, 385,313 followers on Facebook, and 369,204 on X.
Regarding its educational programs, 76,406 people participated in the different face-to-face and online activities offered by the Museum in 2023, and 997,710 visitors used the didactic spaces. The family programs welcomed 7,049 participants, and 12,607 adults participated in the wide range of courses, talks, workshops, lectures, and shows offered by the Museum. In 2023, an innovative Wellbeing program was launched, which attracted 500 participants. It included activities like Slow Gazing, yoga, and talks to improve wellbeing through art.
Regarding schools, 23,329 children visited the Museum, and the Educators Community, the free online community for teachers, now has 3,437 members. Likewise, in 2023 the social programs provided 3,124 people access to the Museum, most notably through the launch of a new type of workshop-visit that enables people in situations of vulnerability or with disabilities to get to know the Museum and engage in creative activities that foster their integration and resilience.
A large Community
Regarding the Museum’s individual members, 268,097 people are part of the Museum’s Community revolving around art and culture (40% more than the previous year). Broken down by groups, it is comprised of 23,534 Museum Members, the highest figure since the Museum opened, which confirms the broad social support of the public nearest it, as well as 244,015 Followers, the free way to establish a relationship with the Museum. They are joined by the 548 beneficiaries of the Erdu Program, which provides unemployed people with free access to the Museum.
In turn, in 2023 the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao had the support of 121 Corporate Members, also part of the Museum’s Community, who are crucial to its financing. Likewise, a variety of exhibitions and activities in the Museum’s programming benefited from corporate sponsorship. Their commitment to the Museum is a sign of stable, lasting relationships, and their monetary contributions weighed heavily in the financing of the annual budget, confirming the soundness of the institution’s financing model.
Engine of the economy
Finally, the estimates of the 2023 results related to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s economic impact on its surroundings are higher than those of the previous year, specifically:
– The total demand generated as a consequence of the Museum’s operations in the Basque Country was 762.2 million euros.
– The Museum’s contribution to the GDP was 657.6 million euros.
– These figures generated 103.4 million euros in additional income for the Basque public treasuries.
– The Museum’s activity contributed to maintaining 13,855 jobs.
Yet another year, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is leading European cultural institutions in its level of self-financing, which reached a record figure of around 78% in 2023.