The British Museum has marked its single biggest day of ticket sales in history as people flocked for a chance to see the Bayeux Tapestry.
Ticket sales opened to the public for a chance to see the 70-metre artefact on Wednesday at 10am. Tens of thousands logged on to join an online queue that at one point had a wait of up to nine hours long.
While the tapestry has lived in Normandy for hundreds of years, it has been loaned to the museum following a historic agreement with France. The embroidered portrayal of the Battle of Hastings will be displayed on British soil from from September 2026 to July 2027 for the first time in nearly 1,000 years.
Over £2.5 million was generated through worth of ticket sales, the museum reported, more in one day than any other exhibition ever held. The online queue reached a peak of over 80,000 customers and the website saw 4.7 times its average daily traffic as hundreds of thousands of people tried to access it across the day.
The online queue showed visitors an estimated wait time, estimated time of arrival, and told them the number of users in queue ahead; they could also sign up their email to hold their place in the line and alert them when it was their time to buy tickets in an allotted 10 minute slot.
Members of the British Museum were given priority access on 16 June to buy tickets for the tapestry which has only left Normandy twice: once in 1804 when it was displayed in Paris by Napoleon and again in 1944.
Tickets released on Wednesday have now sold out, but those who were unable to secure them will have more opportunities later in the year for dates between January – March and April – July.
Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, director of the British Museum, said that the high demand of the tickets reflected the public appetite for arts and culture.
“We’ve seen an extraordinary response to The Bayeux Tapestry with today becoming the single biggest day for any exhibition ever held at the British Museum.
“The level of demand reflects the unique opportunity this exhibition brings and the appetite of the public for more arts and culture. I want to thank everyone for their support and the patience of those in the queue yesterday. We look forward to welcoming you all to the Museum in September when we get to unveil this unique show.”
Those who bought tickets paid more than double what is charged in the Bayeux Museum in Normandy, where tickets are €12.
Adults tickets went for £33 at standard times and between £25 and £27 off peak, while students, 16–18 year-olds and jobseekers got a discounted rate of £25. Those under 16 received free entry and those with National Art Passes paid between £12.50 and £16.50 depending on what time they go.
Writing for The Independent, Igor Tulchinsky, the founder and chief executive officer of asset management firm WorldQuant, who are sponsoring the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum, said: “History, I came to believe, is most honestly told not through textbooks but through objects and decisions, and the records left by human hands. Bringing young people face to face with this extraordinary artefact will create a lasting impact.”
