Bayeux Tapestry loan could pave way for Parthenon Sculptures deal, says Cullinan

The success of the Bayeux Tapestry loan could help resolve the long-running dispute over the Parthenon Sculptures, the director of the British Museum has said.

With the blockbuster exhibition of the medieval embroidery due to open at the museum on 10 September, Nicholas Cullinan told the Financial Times that the deal that brought the tapestry to the UK was “a very compelling example of international partnership”, which pointed to the success of “reciprocal exchange”.

He said the agreement between Britain and France, which was finally signed in July 2025 after hitting numerous diplomatic and logistical stumbling blocks, gave him hope that a similar deal could be reached with Greece.  

“Every example of a relationship or cultural history is different, so there isn’t a cookie-cutter template,” he told the paper.

“That said, you would hope the fact that it took several goes to pull off the Bayeux Tapestry loan might provide a glimmer of possibility to move forward [on the Parthenon Sculptures].”

“I would hope that some tangible progress can happen,” he added.

Cullinan’s comments come as the new prime minister Andy Burnham appears to have softened his previous support for the permanent return of the artefacts.

In 2023, when he was still the mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham posted on X: “Send [the sculptures] back. No strings.”

However, when asked by the Financial Times last week if Burnham still held this position, a spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “Decisions relating to the care and management of the museum's collections, including loaning objects, are a matter for the trustees of the British Museum.”

The British Museum has been in talks with the Greek government for several years about a potential partnership that would see the marbles temporarily return to Athens in exchange for rolling loans of other Ancient Greek treasures. The negotiations appear to have stalled lately, with Greek officials indicating they will accept nothing less than the full, permanent repatriation of the 2,500-year-old artefacts.

The British Museum Act 1963 prevents the permanent deaccessioning of objects from the institution’s collection. Cullinan has previously made clear that he will not seek to amend the legislation during his tenure as director.

The first tranche of tickets for The Bayeux Tapestry exhibition sold out within hours of going live in July. The next wave of public tickets, for visits between January and March 2027, will go on sale on 21 October at 10am.

A new trailer for the exhibition, starring British Museum trustee and The Traitors presenter Claudia Winkleman, alongside Culllinan, premiered over the weekend at Piccadilly Circus. The film introduces Winkleman as the museum’s new head of security, whose first day is interrupted by an unexpected invasion of Norman and Anglo-Saxon soldiers.