27,000 flock to '¨see V&A Dundee in its first week

Visitors inside and outside Kuma's stunning new building last week. Photograph: PA Wire

More than 27,000 members of the public have visited the new V&A Dundee museum in its first week of opening.

The figure is higher than the combined capacity of the city’s two football stadiums, Tannadice and Dens Park.

It also represents more than 5 per cent of the 500,000 audience predicted for the first year of the £80 million attraction’s operation.

The opening week figure would have been even higher had the V&A not been forced to turn away visitors around 3.30pm on Wednesday due to the ravages of Storm Ali.

National tourism agency VisitScotland said the city was “successfully positioning itself as Scotland’s capital of culture” with the opening of the new museum.

The official figure does not include anyone who attended several days of pre-opening previews, including more than 300 journalists, bloggers and social media influencers from around the world, and hundreds of schoolchildren and representatives of community groups.

A further 22,600 people are said to have attended a free celebratory festival in Slessor Gardens on the museum’s opening weekend.

V&A Dundee director Philip Long said: “V&A Dundee officially opened its doors last Saturday and since then more than 27,000 people have explored this wonderful building and its fantastic galleries.

“Kengo Kuma, the architect who designed V&A Dundee, wanted the museum to become a new living room for the city and it’s been a joy to watch people from Dundee and further afield make themselves at home.

“As well as museum visitors, we have also celebrated the opening of V&A Dundee with the 22,600 people who joined us for the 3D Festival.

“It’s been a very busy week, and I’d like to thank everybody who has helped us celebrate this historic moment and all those who came during our opening week. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming even more visitors to the museum.”

Malcolm Roughead, VisitScotland’s chief executive, said: “I’m delighted to hear that after the years of hard work and planning, V&A Dundee is already proving itself to be a huge asset to the city and inspiring visitors as soon as they walk through its doors.

“Dundee has a real buzz about it and this now iconic museum has sparked huge interest – both locally and globally.

“The city is successfully positioning itself as Scotland’s capital of culture – a vibrant hub for creativity and design.”