Delhi’s Renowned Wax Museum Closed Due to Losses

When we think about wax statues, we think of Madame Tussauds. However, this famous UK-based museum has decided to shut its first wax museum in India. Located in Connaught Place, Delhi, the twenty-third Madam Tussauds Museum in the world was opened in Delhi but suffered unexpected losses and less footfall of visitors in the following years.

Much to the surprise of Merlin Entertainments, the parent company of Madame Tussauds in London, which planned to invest 10 million Euros in its Indian shop, Delhi’s museum did not receive an acknowledgment from visitors like it usually enjoys in other museums worldwide. 

Unlike the standard 40:60 ratio, the wax museum at Delhi had 60 percent figures dedicated to local celebrities and the remaining based on international ones. The model was followed after considering the Indian market that celebrates its local actors, singers, cricketers, and politicians more than international stars.

The museum housed approximately 120 wax statues that included famous personalities from music, sports, films, history, and politics. To name a few, it included the figures of Sachin Tendulkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Madhuri Dixit, the Dalai Lama, Leonardo di Caprio, Lady Gaga, and Raj Kapoor.

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum was shut last year in March. However, the recent announcements indicate that it is unlikely to open any time soon. The authorities have announced a permanent shut down of the museum after three years of its launch.

Costly arrangements for maintaining wax items, expensive ticket rates, parking issues, encroachment by illegal hawkers, and overcrowding outside the museum are some of the reasons for the decision to close down the museum.

Despite all the losses it incurred in its Connaught Place establishment, the company is optimistic and is already working on opening the museum in a less crowded, cleaner, and spacious location around the capital.