Dippy the dinosaur attracts more than 10,000 visitors in first week

More than 10,000 people have visited the Dippy the dinosaur exhibition in Coventry at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in its first week.

The interest in Dippy has been “absolutely phenomenal”, according to curator Ali Wells.

The plaster cast of the Diplodocus Carnegii first went on display at London’s Natural History Museum in 1905. It consists of 292 bones and is 26m long.

It underwent a tour of the UK in 2017, before a three-year stay in Coventry.

Ms Wells said: “Last January and February together we had about 13,500 visitors, so we are doing two months in two weeks.”

She added that, although most visitors have come from the city, others have travelled from across the Midlands: “We are absolutely delighted the people of Coventry and even further afield are coming to have this time with Dippy.”

Dippy is a fantastic addition to Coventry’s cultural offering and will no doubt be a source of awe and inspiration for people in the city and beyond

– Heather Kincaid of the Herbert

Paul Jones, managing director of Visit Coventry, said: “This is a real coup for Coventry and provides yet another boost to the fantastic tourism offer we have in the city. Coventry’s reputation as a cultural centre continues to grow and being able to attract internationally famous exhibits like this is further evidence of that developing profile.

“We are sure that Dippy will attract thousands of new visitors to our city and in turn provide significant benefit to the wider visitor economy in Coventry.”

According to Heather Kincaid of the Herbert, demand is expected to be high during Easter.

She said: “It’s just such a massive thing for the city and for Coventry following on from the City of Culture year, it’s amazing to have something of this scale.”

This view was echoed by Josie Bamford, commissioning director of Coventry UK City of Culture Trust.

She said: “Dippy is a fantastic addition to Coventry’s cultural offering and will no doubt be a source of awe and inspiration for people in the city and beyond. Dippy will not only attract visitors to the city, but also provide an opportunity to explore environmental challenges in a fun and accessible manner.”

Free tickets have been made available for advance booking and the museum said every hour they were expecting 250 visitors in addition to walk-in guests.