6 . C E N T R E
G E O R G E S -
P O M P I D O U
PLACE GEORGES-POMPIDOU
In 1969 , President Georges Pompidou decided that the vacant
seat of the Beaubourg Plateau should be used to build a multi -
disciplinary cultural centre of a completely new type . This
decision has given a new impetus to a number of different
projects that will now be merged in the new center , the
creation of a new public library for reading in the center of
Paris , the provision of decent facilities for contemporary
contemporary art ( MNAM ), the creation of a center for new
music ( IRCAM ) ideas of the French composer Pierre Blues .
The announced architectural competition , the first of its kind
in France , which was open to architects from all over the
world : 681 participants from 49 different countries took part in
it .
The Pompidou Center was opened on January 31 , 1977 . Since its
opening for visitors on February 2 , 1977 , it has been a huge
success , quickly becoming one of the most popular cultural
sites in the world and one of the most visited museums in
France .
In the late 1970s and 1980s , the Pompidou Center exhibited
very influential exhibitions that contributed greatly to 20th -
century art history : the Paris - New York , Paris - Berlin , Paris -
Moscow and Paris " Couples ", " Vienna : the birth of the century ",
" Non - material ", " Memories of the future ", " Maps and figures of
the Earth ", " Wizards of the Earth ". Under the guidance of its
directors Ponta Hultena and Dominique Boso , the collection of
contemporary art of contemporary art has grown significantly
and has become a world leader in the field of contemporary
and contemporary art .
After twenty years of activity and welcoming more than 150
million visitors , under President Jean - Jacques Eyllagon , the
Pompidou Center carried out maintenance work that lasted
from October 1997 to December 1999 . The government
provided funding to expand the gallery space to display a
permanent exhibition and improve the conditions for visitors .
The Pompidou Center reopened on January 1 , 2000 , again with
great success , and this year it was visited by 16 , 000 people .
Currently , the Pompidou Center accepts 3 . 5 to 3 . 8 million
visitors per year .