Dutch museum seeks to extend Bowie expo

A Dutch museum said Tuesday it wants to extend a major retrospective of David Bowie's life as bereaved fans rush to snap up tickets to visit the show following the British artist's death.

More than 18,000 people have bought tickets online since Monday to visit "David Bowie Is" touring the world after its launch in London in 2013 by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

"We are trying to prolong the exhibition," said Regina Zwaagstra, spokeswoman for the Groninger Museum, in the northern Netherlands.

She said they were already in talks with the London museum.

"We don't know what the V&A is planning, but if we could extend it until April that would be great," she told AFP.

Groninger has been hosting the exhibition which brings together 300 objects, costumes, notes and music scores -- some from Bowie's personal collection -- since December 11. The show is due to close on March 13.

Since the announcement early Monday of Bowie's death at the age of 69 from cancer, the museum has been overwhelmed with interest in the exhibition.

It opened its doors on Monday -- the day it is normally closed -- and now plans to stay open every Saturday until 10:00 pm to cope with demand.

The exhibition was already proving popular with some 40,000 ticket sales for its first month. Normally tickets have been selling at a steady rate of 1,000 a day -- but on Monday some 15,000 were bought and early Tuesday morning another 3,000 were snapped up.

Many of the visiting fans have also written in a condolence book at the museum.

The exhibition, which has already triumphed in cities such as Tokyo, Paris and Berlin, traces Bowie's prolific career, and includes such items as his iconic Union Jack coat, and a synthesiser given to him by his friend and fellow musician Brian Eno.