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Spiceworld Exhibition makes record-breaking start
The new exhibition devoted to the Spice Girls at Leeds City Museum is already proving a record-breaker.
In its first two weeks the exhibition based around memorabilia and merchandise from the most successful girl band of all time has attracted over 5,000 visitors – smashing all records for new exhibitions at the museum.
And news of its success has even made its way to Los Angeles, home of Leeds’ own Spice Girl Mel B. Such has been the number of messages she has received praising the exhibition, Mel replied on Twitter saying “Thank you for all your amazing pics from the Leeds Spice exhibition” and even hinting at a return to the city to see it in person by telling collector Liz West “I will make a point of taking a trip to you to see it all for myself.”
Since opening to the public on 28 January, over 5,400 people flocked to the museum off Millennium Square to visit the exhibition in its first two weeks. This compares to 3,500 who attended the first two weeks of the previous best attended exhibition, Dr Rock’s Lost Gallery which was on display last year.
Running until July, ‘Spiceworld: The exhibition’ is free to enter and celebrates the success of the Spice Girls as well as examining what it takes to be a modern celebrity.
The basis for the exhibition is the extraordinary collection of Yorkshire’s Liz West, who is the foremost collector of official Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise in the country with almost 4,000 items of all kinds devoted to the band.
The exhibition at Leeds City Museum is the first time Liz’s collection has ever been on display in its entirety in public and features outfits worn by the band, accessories, platinum discs, books, magazines and dolls being sourced from all over the world.
Spice Girls memorabilia collector Liz West said:
“I am absolutely delighted that so many people have taken an interest in coming to the exhibition. Everyone who has seen it seems to like it so that is great to see. Obviously it would be amazing if Mel B came along to see it for herself – the offer of a full tour is always open whenever she likes!”
Leeds City Museum curator of exhibitions Helen Langwick said:
“The visitor numbers for the first two weeks have been really impressive and we are all really pleased. People of all ages are coming along to see it and that shows it has the broad appeal that we were hoping it would.
“The fact so many people have been in touch with Mel B to praise the exhibition is really nice to hear. We look forward to welcoming thousands more people to see it in the coming weeks and months.”
As part of the exhibition, wannabe popstars will have the chance to emulate their heroes at a special tribute day on Friday 25 February. Taking place from 10:30am-12:30pm and 1:30pm-3:30pm, fans can visit the museum dressed as their favourite music star and have their photo taken which will be added to the wall on fame in the exhibition. They can also follow in the footsteps of their heroes and perform for their friends and family in the SingStar interactive zone.
Spiceworld: The exhibition will run at Leeds City Museum from Friday 28 January to Sunday 3 July. Admission is free.
For further information on Leeds City Museum, visit the website at http://www.leeds.gov.uk/citymuseum/
Notes to editors:
The Spice Girls are Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham (née Adams) who quickly became known by the nicknames Scary, Baby, Sporty, Ginger and Posh.
Following the impact of debut single ‘Wannabe’ which topped the charts in 31 countries in 1996, the Spice Girls enjoyed phenomenal success selling over 80 million records worldwide, having nine UK number one singles, starring in their own feature film and creating the ‘girl power’ mantra which is credited with inspiring a generation of girls and women to achieve.
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