In April 1999, the Royal Academy in London kept its exhibition “Monet in the 20th Century” open through the night on its final weekend—the first such all-night opening by a major British gallery. People without advance tickets came for a last chance to enter, and a queue formed outside. About 44,000 visitors attended during the closing weekend, while total attendance reached roughly 813,000.
The 24-hour opening was more than a publicity flourish. It shifted demand that ordinary gallery hours could not absorb into the night and early morning. Yet staying open continuously did not mean visitors could simply walk in. Staff still had to regulate both the order of admission and movement around the pictures inside.
An exhibition devoted to Monet's changing light received its largest influx in nighttime London. The final queue was not waiting for the building to open; it was waiting for each person's turn to pass through doors that never closed.