British Museum releases first batch for 10-month London show; adults £33 peak, £27 off-peak, under-16s free
Tens of thousands of people joined a virtual queue on Wednesday to buy the first tickets for the Bayeux Tapestry’s upcoming exhibition at the British Museum, the first time the 11th-century embroidery will be shown on British soil.
More than 65,000 people were online when sales opened at 10:00 BST. Some reported long waits and timed-out sessions, while others said they secured slots for the 10-month run starting in September.
A 70-metre medieval masterpiece comes to London
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, culminating in the Battle of Hastings. Measuring about 70 metres long, it is one of the world’s most famous medieval artworks.
It is being loaned to the UK while its usual home, the Bayeux Museum in Normandy, closes for a major renovation. The British Museum will display it for 10 months in a specially designed gallery.
“This is an incredible event,” British Museum director Dr Nicholas Cullinan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “This is the first time in centuries that people will be able to see the entire length of the tapestry.”
For conservation, the embroidery will be laid flat in a single, continuous line inside a custom-made glass case.
“That’s the best way to show it in terms of conservation,” Cullinan said. “The other thing that’s very exciting is it will be shown in one long line.”
The tapestry will be transported in the coming weeks via Eurotunnel. The Telegraph reports that two test runs have already assessed vibration levels, with successful results. For the move, it will travel in a dedicated train carriage with only conservators and guards on board, plus police escorts on both sides of the Channel.
“Nothing left to chance” was how the museum described the logistics, with strict climate and security controls planned for the journey and display.
The museum said it was “expecting huge demand and interest” before sales began. That proved accurate: 65,000+ people joined the online queue at launch.
Ticket prices are set at £33 for peak-time adult slots and £27 for off-peak. By comparison, entry to see the tapestry in Bayeux normally costs €12.
Cullinan said the exhibition is a major, costly undertaking for the charity-run museum. “We do need to recoup those funds,” he told Today.
To keep access broad, most tickets are off-peak, and all children under 16 will be admitted free. “We felt it was very important to make this something that all young people have access to,” he said.
If you missed the first release, there are two more chances. The British Museum will put additional tickets on sale in October and in January.
To maximise visitor numbers, the museum plans to use timed slots, limiting how long each group spends with the tapestry.
Because the tapestry is delicate, its travel to the UK sparked debate. Artist David Hockney previously called the move “madness.”
Museum officials say the risk has been minimised through testing, specialist packing, and a controlled environment for display. The flat, continuous presentation also reduces handling and light exposure compared with older display methods.
The Bayeux Tapestry is a rare, near-complete narrative artwork from the medieval period. It offers a visual account of 1066 from a Norman perspective, with detailed scenes of ships, armour, horses, and the death of King Harold.
For UK audiences, the loan is historic: the embroidery has not been exhibited in Britain in its full length for about 900 years. For many visitors, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to walk alongside the entire story.
The museum attracts more than six million visitors a year. Its most successful exhibition to date was 1972’s Treasures of Tutankhamun, which drew 1.69 million people.
While the tapestry show is smaller in scale, early demand suggests it could be one of the museum’s biggest draws in recent years.
- Future releases: Further tickets in October and January.
- Display: Laid flat, shown in one long line under conservation
- The tapestry will return to Bayeux after the renovation is complete. For now, London becomes its temporary home, and ticket holders will be among the first in centuries to see the full 70-metre story laid out at once
