Following countrywide business lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, the UK’s National Videogame Museum (NVM) had no choice but to shut its doors in March. The resulting revenue loss spelled doom for the museum, prompting organizer British Games Institute to start a fundraiser (via JustGiving) for outside support. In the end, it seems the tireless efforts have paid off in spades. The fundraiser brought in about £200,000 from more than 800 supporters, well over two times the original fundraising goal of £80,000. Moreover, the museum will reopen for business this weekend on August 22nd.
To ensure the safety of staff members and visitors, the museum is implementing several precautions. According to GamesIndustry.biz, these safety measures include, but are not limited to: sanitization procedures, encouraging reservations, allowing in only a select number of visitors at once, and enforcing face mask mandates.
In a statement about this weekend’s reopening, NVM’s Director of Culture, Iain Simons, said the following, “Our community of patrons and friends have kept us going through lockdown with extraordinary levels of support. Like everyone else, we’re only just discovering what post-lockdown operation will be, so whilst we’re nervously excited – we’re also delighted to be welcoming people back to the NVM.”
The museum originally set up shop in Nottingham, England in 2015, going by the name of National Videogame Arcade. In 2017, the British Games Institute was established; it later merged with the National Videogame Foundation–the organizer behind National Videogame Arcade. During the latter part of 2018, BGI moved the museum to its current Sheffield location, before renaming it the National Videogame Museum.
[Source: National Videogame Museum via GamesIndustry.biz]
