MADRID.- The Museo del Prado took the decision to increase its opening hours to every day of the week in order to improve and expand its cultural activities and thus guarantee its commitment to covering 60% of its budget through self-financing. This new initiative starts with the exhibition ‘The Hermitage in the Prado’, which will be open every day of the week, from Mondays to Sundays, from the day it opens on 8 November. The Museum’s Permanent Collection will also have new opening hours from 16 January. The Royal Board of Trustees of the Museo del Prado approved the initiative to extend the Museum’s opening hours to every day of the week. This decision falls within the “Current Situation Reaction Plan” that the Museum has set in motion in the light of the ongoing reduction of public funding arising from the present economic circumstances in Spain. It includes a wide-ranging series of actions aimed at improving the service offered to the visiting public and at increasing the Museum’s activities in order to guarantee its financial stability and viability over the coming years.