Bayeux Tapestry opens sold-out British Museum show

The Bayeux Tapestry opened to the public at the British Museum in London on September 10 in a sold-out exhibition described as the medieval artwork's first display outside France.

Visitors with tickets for the first day queued outside the museum before the opening. The British Museum has sold a record 100,000 tickets, with adult tickets priced at £25 to £33.

The loan from France followed years of diplomacy and is due to last until July 2027. King Charles III said the temporary transfer was “a precious symbol of trust” between nations.

The 70-metre tapestry depicts the 1066 Battle of Hastings and the invasion of England by William the Conqueror's Norman army. Its origins remain uncertain, but it is widely thought to have been made in England nearly 1,000 years ago before being transferred to Bayeux in northern France.

For the London exhibition, the tapestry has been laid flat in a raised glass cabinet. In Bayeux, it is displayed vertically. Animations projected on a wall highlight details and key events in the embroidery, and ticket-holders have 40 minutes inside the exhibition.

Exhibition curator Michael Lewis said the British public was “completely crazy about this object” because of its importance to British history. Public interest has also extended beyond the museum, with themed merchandise, a Greggs embroidered “Ta-Pastry”, renewed attention for a Victorian replica at Reading Museum and a pub near the British Museum displaying an embroidered tribute to brewing.

The tapestry was transported by truck from northern France to London in July. France said last week that two broken threads were found during a full condition check. The British Museum said the embroidery was virtually unchanged and that thread breaks measuring a few millimetres at most were not considered significant damage.

Plans to loan the tapestry to London had previously been considered for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953 and for the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1966, but both were aborted.