Struggled to get Glastonbury tickets yesterday? Maybe you’ll have better luck with the Bayeux Tapestry – though you’ll have to be just as speedy. Last month, this wonder of the medieval world, which until this year hadn’t been seen in England since it was made nearly 1000 years ago, went on display at the British Museum. The 70-metre-long artwork, which depicts 58 scenes leading up to the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, will be on display until July 11, 2027.
Tickets are completely sold out from now until December 31, but another round will go on sale on October 21 (or October 6 if you’re a British Museum member, which costs £82 per year). When the first round of tickets went on sale, the British Museum sold a record 100,000 in one day – so it’s safe to assume they’ll fly in the second round, too.
We don’t need to explain why Londoners (and people from across the UK) have jumped at the chance to see the Bayeux Tapestry with their own eyes. Scenes from the artwork are etched into the minds of anyone who studied English history in school – such as King Harold being (supposedly) shot in the eye with an arrow at the Battle of Hastings, heralding England’s defeat. It was the last time England was successfully invaded, launching a new chapter of English history shaped by the Normans.
In this historic nine-month loan with France, the British Museum will let hundreds of thousands of visitors see the embroidery up close. It’s displayed flat, with a mezzanine allowing visitors to see the work. This week, the museum introduced a few changes to the exhibition, including clearer signage and additional seating for those in the queue. It followed complaints made earlier this month, when some ticket-holders were turned away due to a backlog when the museum closed early for a private event. The museum issued an apology and said it planned to introduce longer opening hours, but these have not yet been announced.
The next ticket release for the Bayeux Tapestry (Jan 1–March 31, 2027) goes on sale on October 21, with members priority booking on October. Sign up to the British Museum for updates.
