National Gallery exhibition smashes attendance record — visitors queue for six hours

'Vermeer & His Rivals' draws unprecedented crowds as final week is announced.

The National Gallery's spring blockbuster 'Vermeer & His Rivals' has officially become the most attended exhibition in the institution's history, with the half-millionth visitor expected to walk through the doors before the weekend.

Queues outside the Sainsbury Wing have routinely stretched to six hours in recent days, with the gallery extending opening hours until midnight on weekends to cope with demand.

Curators credit the success to a combination of newly attributed works, immersive lighting design and what they call 'the post-pandemic hunger for genuinely communal cultural experiences'.

The exhibition closes on 7 July, and a final block of timed tickets will be released at 9am tomorrow — expected to sell out within minutes.

A nationwide tour is now being negotiated with venues in Edinburgh, Birmingham and Cardiff.