The London Fan Museum

Last night saw the 100,000th visitor to London's Fan Museum (below).


The Fan Museum features a collection of fans unparalleled in the western world, and is one of the capital's up and coming tourist attractions. Notable fans preserved in the museum include:

• King Abdullah II of Jordan, who has made no secret of his admiration for the Star Trek franchise and who even appeared in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. He cheerfully abdicated from the throne when told he could live in the museum and be encased next to John Barrowman (famously a fan of Deep Space Nine). Sadly, by the time the latter pulled out due to his Torchwood filming commitments, King Abdullah was already settling into his display cabinet. However, he is reported to be quite happy in the museum since receiving Star Quest: Conquest for the Wii last Christmas. King Abdullah hopes to receive an actual Wii on which to play the game this year.
  


• Michael Soleta, the museum's newest resident. Soleta is a longtime Michael Jackson fan who flew directly from the Michael Jackson public memorial service in Los Angeles to London Luton airport to be transferred to the museum's entertainment gallery. As he leapt into an SUV outside the Staples Center on Tuesday, Soleta said: "I can't believe I'm actually going! This is going to be great!" Museum sources have since indicated that Soleta has settled in very well and will be available for public viewing from the end of August.
  


• Matthew Simmons, who lives in a well-proportioned perspex tank in the museum's international wing. His case is fitted with a boot on a stick so that he may re-enact the flying kung-fu kick he received from Eric Cantona in 1995. He is draped from head to toe in the tricolour, and tickets may be bought at the museum's box office for his hourly performance of La Marseillaise, which was described by Time Out as "proud and saucy".
  


• Chris Doyle, a singer and actor who was only transferred to the museum as a result of administrative confusion caused by the name of his 2002 smash hit film. However, upon his installation to the museum Doyle decided to stay and has since become very popular with visitors and staff, cracking jokes with museum-goers and running the museum's bridge nights.
  


• That fat woman who thought she was married to TV and radio personality Mike Read and sent him faxes in the nude. She's right at back, near the toilets.

At a ceremony in the museum's Darwin Wing yesterday, Artistic Director Hélène Alexander said: "It is a tremendous honour to be at the helm of this great institution as we pass yet another milestone. However, none of this would be possible without the general public – without their love and support, we wouldn't be here. Put simply: this one's for the fans."

The London Fan Museum is open 365 days a year, from 0900-1800 between May and September, and from 0900-1700 during the rest of the year. Adults: £4.00; Concessions: £3.00; Children (under 7): Free; Over 7 and under 16: £3.