Bayeux Tapestry Opens at British Museum to Sold-Out Demand

The Bayeux Tapestry has gone on public display at the British Museum in London, marking the first time the medieval embroidery has been on British soil in nearly 1,000 years. The exhibition opened on September 10, 2026, and runs until July 11, 2027, in the museum's Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery on Great Russell Street. The 70-metre artwork, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is on loan while its permanent home at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy undergoes refurbishment. The loan was arranged between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a gesture of UK-France cultural diplomacy, and British treasures including the Sutton Hoo collection and the Lewis chessmen are expected to travel to French museums in return. Demand for the exhibition has been intense. An initial release of 100,000 tickets sold out within hours, generating more than £2.5 million, according to the museum. Adult tickets are priced between £25 and £33 depending on peak and off-peak times, with free entry for members and under-16s accompanied by a paying adult.