Madame Tussauds entity ceased to exist. On 17 July 2007, as part of the financing for the Tussauds deal, Merlin sold the freehold of Madame Tussauds to private investor Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury under a sale and leaseback agreement. Although the attraction sites are owned by Prestbury, they are operated by Merlin based on a renewable 35-year lease. Madame Tussaud's wax museum became a major tourist attraction in London, incorporating (until 2010) the London Planetarium in its west wing and a large animated dark ride, "The Spirit of London", opened in 1993. Today's wax figures at Tussauds include historical
Madame Tussauds New York Messi. The dynamic wax figure features Lionel Messi mid-kick as he prepares to score a goal. The figure is wearing his recognizable #10 team Argentina jersey, as he wore it during the 2014 FIFA World Cup games in Brazil. Studio artists from Madame Tussauds worked for 4 months to create his figure, calculating over 250 measurements from photo and video references of the athlete in order to perfectly recreate his appearance and capture his on-the-field intensity. His figure is located in the all-new Sports Zone at Madame Tussauds New York and is part of an interactive soccer simulator where visitors