Bayeux Tapestry goes on display at British Museum

The Bayeux Tapestry went on public display at the British Museum on Thursday, September 10, 2026, returning to Britain for the first time in almost 1,000 years. Thousands of people queued around the building to see the 70-metre embroidery, which depicts the Norman conquest and the events surrounding the Battle of Hastings in 1066. An estimated 7.5 million visitors are expected over the course of the exhibition. The tapestry is on loan from France under a special agreement between the UK, France and the museum. The loan was welcomed at a VIP viewing last week attended by the King, French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Special conservation and security measures are in place to protect the artefact, which weighs around 350 kilograms, while it is in the UK. Tickets for the opening months have sold out, with the next release scheduled for October 21 for viewings in spring 2027. Sources differ on when the loan ends: some reporting states the tapestry will be displayed until July 11, 2027, while other accounts say it will remain in the UK until September 2027. The museum has not issued a clarification in the supplied reporting.