[World] Van Gogh Museum pulls Pokémon card over safety concerns

Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum has stopped giving out a limited edition Pokémon card for safety and security reasons.

The card was available as part of an exhibition in collaboration with Pokémon about Vincent Van Gogh’s links to Japanese art and culture.

Videos posted on social media showed visitors swarming the museum’s shops for Pokémon merchandise following the exhibition’s opening in September.

The museum said an “undesirable situation” had been created.

In a statement it emphasised that though the decision was down to the actions of “a small group of individuals”, it had “led us to take the difficult decision to remove the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat promo card from the museum.”

It said it hoped the decision to remove the card would allow visitors to explore the exhibits in a “safe and enjoyable manner”, adding that it was taken with the safety and security of staff in mind.

The museum did not provide details of what specific safety problems were raised by the card’s availability – which features the Pokémon character Pikachu posing in the manner of Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat.

Some gaming websites had reported that alleged scalpers had descended on the museum to get the cards and resell them for inflated prices.

Some cards have been spotted on ecommerce websites for as much as €8,060 (£7,000).

The limited edition Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat cards were on sale from the museum’s shop on the day of the exhibition’s launch on 28 September but were immediately sold out, prompting The Pokémon Company International to apologise to fans a day later.

The Van Gough Museum said the card would still be available for fans from the UK, the US and Canada to buy online.

They said it would be available in selected Dutch shops from the beginning of next year, but not via the Van Gogh Museum.

The Van Gogh Museum did not return a request for comment from the BBC.