Record ticket sales for Bayeux Tapestry exhibition

London’s British Museum achieved its biggest-ever day of ticket sales for the forthcoming Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.

The exhibition, which runs from 10 September until 11 July 2027, opened for bookings on 1 July, with the museum generating more than £2.5m in sales.

The online queue reached a peak of 80,000-plus and the museum’s website saw 4.7 times its average daily traffic, with hundreds of thousands of people trying to access the site across the day.

Tickets released on 1 July sold out on the first day. There will be more opportunities to book later in the year for dates between January and March and April and July next year.

Those unable to get tickets to the British Museum could instead visit Reading Museum, which has a full-size reproduction of the Bayeux Tapestry. This was created by a group of Victorian embroiderers in the late 19^th-century. It can be seen in Reading Museum’s Bayeux Gallery, with guided tours also available.

Another option is the British Museum’s Bayeux Around Britain programme, which was launched on 12 June. The initiative is designed to communicate the story and significance of the tapestry to as many people as possible, and make it more accessible to schoolchildren.

The British Museum is working with more than 60 organisations, including museums and galleries, to provide education programming. Activities include a digital exhibition pack for partners and a British Museum Spotlight loan of a 19th century cast of the tapestry, touring to several destinations.

Museums involved in Bayeux Around Britain include Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, North Lincolnshire Museum, The Box in Plymouth, Carrickfergus Museum and the Museum of Somerset.

On 14 October, the British Museum will broadcast live into hundreds of classrooms across the country. Delivered in partnership with the British Library, English Heritage and Norwich Museum Service, the broadcast is designed particularly for schools unable to visit the exhibition in person. 

The Bayeux Around Britain programme is supported by WorldQuant, which describes itself as a “quantitative asset management firm”.

The Bayeux Tapestry exhibition will also provide a focus for the red-themed 2026 British Museum Ball on 17 October. The event will be directed by artist and designer Es Devlin and will also reference a display marking the 250th anniversary of the US (30 June–29 November) and an exhibition about Korean art and culture (1 October 2026 – 31 January 2027).

The museum’s inaugural ball last year raised more than £2.5m towards its international partnerships programme.

The tapestry has been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, Normandy, since 1983. It was removed last year when the museum closed for renovation, which provided the opprortunity for the Bayeux Tapestry to come to the UK. It will return to France for display in the new Bayeux Tapestry Museum following its display at the British Museum.