BRITISH MUSEUM SELLS £2.5M IN BAYEUX TAPESTRY TICKETS IN SINGLE DAY

The British Museum reported record ticket sales on Wednesday as members of the public attempted to secure places to view the Bayeux Tapestry. Ticket sales opened at 10am, with an online queue reaching a peak of over 80,000 people and estimated wait times of up to nine hours. The museum generated over £2.5 million in sales, which it stated exceeded ticket revenue from any previous single day of any exhibition it has held. All available tickets for the initial release have sold out.

The 70-metre embroidered tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings will be displayed at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027 following a loan agreement with France. The artefact has remained in Normandy for hundreds of years and has left the region only twice: in 1804 when displayed in Paris during the Napoleonic era, and in 1944. The website experienced 4.7 times its average daily traffic as hundreds of thousands of people sought access. Members of the British Museum received priority booking access on 16 June before the general public sale.

Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, director of the British Museum, attributed the demand to public appetite for arts and culture. He stated that the response represented "the single biggest day for any exhibition ever held at the British Museum". The museum confirmed that further ticket releases will occur later in the year for display dates between January and July 2027, offering additional opportunities for those unable to secure places in Wednesday's sale.