Saatchi gallery plans for crowds

Damien Hirst's shark maintains a deadly presence

The Saatchi Gallery on London's South Bank opens its doors to the public on Thursday, hoping to attract hundreds of thousands of art lovers over the coming year.

The gallery highlights work by some of the most notorious young British contemporary artists and by other international names.

It includes Damien Hirst's pickled shark in a tank of formaldehyde, and Tracey Emin's infamous bed.

A spokesman said the Saatchi Gallery hopes to attract 750,000 people in the first year.

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"We don't know how many people we'll be getting in the first few weeks, but we expect it to be a lot because of the enormous amount of publicity the gallery has had," the spokesman said.

Lavish

The new gallery at London's County Hall financed by advertising guru Charles Saatchi was launched on Tuesday night with a party and a massed nude display organised by artist Spencer Tunick, involving more 160 people.

About 1,000 guests, including many celebrities, gathered for the lavish opening party.

Among those attending were Saatchi's partner Nigella Lawson, model Sophie Anderton, actors Jeremy Irons and Stephen Fry and Sir Mick Jagger's daughter Jade.

ART ON THE MOVE Saatchi Gallery reviewed

The gallery, situated near the London Eye on the South Bank of the River Thames, is in an area that sees some 12 million visitors a year.

The gallery will be charging £8.50 for admission, or £6.50 for concessions, which the spokesman said was "good value".

It will include a space that will showcase new artists, rotating work every five to six weeks.

The 100-plus pieces on display at the gallery is but a fraction of Saatchi's 2,000-plus collection of contemporary arts works.

The Tate Modern contemporary art gallery, at the other end of the South Bank, attracted more than 12 million visitors in the last 12-month period.

Genral admission to Tate Modern is free, though it does charge for some of its temporary exhibitions.