India’s first Madame Tussauds museum is set to open it doors to visitors in June in Delhi.
UK-based Merlin Entertainments on Thursday said it was foraying into India with its wax museum attraction Madame Tussauds. The company plans to invest about £50 million over the next 10 years in India, said Merlin Entertainments, Director, New Openings Europe & Emerging Markets, Marcel Kloos. “We will open our first Madame Tussauds attraction in the heart of Delhi at the Regal Cinema building this summer in June. We will open with over 50 wax figures and nearly 60 per cent of these will be local celebrities,” he said.
The company said it hopes to offer an “immersive” experience to Indian consumers, which will see wax statues of personalities such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actor Amitabh Bachchan.
The 50 hand-made wax figures will be from diverse sections such as history, sport, music, film and television. Each of these wax figures is created with the expertise of over 20 international and local artists. An estimated ₹1.5 crore is being spent on each of these figures.
“We see India as a country with high potential. We were looking for the right location. Madame Tussauds attraction across the globe have been attracting Indian visitors, “ he said. The UK-based Merlin Entertainments has over 117 attractions in 24 countries under various brands such as Legoland Discovery Centres, Madame Tussauds, SEA LIFE Aquariums, among others.
Kloos said the company was also looking to bring its other brands. “We believe we could open another Madame Tussauds in the country. We are also looking to bring our other attractions to India and will make announcements once we finalise our plans,” he said.