International Museum Day: when in 2025, the history and traditions of the holiday

International Museum Day is celebrated on May 18 all over the world. This is an annual celebration of museums and museum specialists who carefully preserve the heritage of different cultures and peoples, making it accessible to visitors. Read about how the holiday date appeared and what traditions are associated with it in the Izvestia article.

International Museum Day in 2025

Museum Day has been celebrated worldwide for more than 40 years. Although the first mentions of the holiday date back to the second half of the XVIII century. At that time, educational activities were actively conducted in Russia and Europe, and art galleries and museums were opened everywhere.

The event appeared on the international calendar in 1977, when at the next meeting of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), which includes Russia, it was decided to establish this cultural holiday. Starting next year, it was celebrated in more than 150 countries.

It is noteworthy that the proposal to create an International Museum Day was made by a Russian delegation led by Irina Antonova, an art historian, director (1961-2013), and subsequently President (2013-2020) of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. Therefore, we can say that the holiday has Russian roots.

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International Museum Day: traditions

The main objective of Museum Day is not only to attract visitors, but also to celebrate the important role of museums in cultural exchange and cooperation between different countries.

Every year, the celebrations are united by one theme. In 2025, it reads like: "The future of museums in rapidly changing communities." It is devoted to how cultural institutions adapt to modern realities and what contribution they make to the development of art, science, education, etc.

Employees of cultural institutions are preparing a variety of events, thematic excursions and lectures for the festive date. You can visit many cultural institutions on May 18 for free. Moreover, the events can last for one day, as well as the whole weekend or the whole week.

One of the main traditions of the holiday is the international action "Night of Museums". It is carried out both in Europe and in Russia. On this day, many museums and galleries are open for free in the evening and at night.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the history and traditions of the International Day of Culture.