British Museum to make Bayeux Tapestry free to see for all under-16s - 'Blockbuster show of our generation'

George Bunn
Sun, 05 Apr 2026 20:35:44 +0000

Visitors aged 16 and under will gain free entry to view the Bayeux Tapestry when the legendary medieval embroidery arrives at the British Museum this September.

Museum bosses confirmed that children will not need to pay for tickets to witness the 70-metre artwork, which chronicles the events surrounding the Norman Conquest of 1066.

The exhibition marks the first occasion in over 900 years that the piece has returned to British shores, and represents its inaugural display anywhere outside France.

George Osborne, the former Chancellor and the British Museum's chairman, has described the upcoming exhibition as "the blockbuster show of our generation."

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Running until July 2027, the exhibition is anticipated to draw up to one million visitors to the Sainsbury Exhibition Gallery.

The museum anticipates approximately 7.5 million people will experience what officials are calling a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity during the exhibition's run.

Tickets become available from July 1, with initial bookings covering September through December, followed by further releases in October and January for subsequent months.

The decision to waive admission fees for young people was influenced partly by the embroidery's place in the national curriculum, where it features in Key Stage 3 history lessons for pupils aged 11 to 14.

Research commissioned by the museum found that 71 per cent of parents expressed a desire for their children to learn more about the tapestry, while 82 per cent indicated they would back school-organised visits.

Dedicated weekday sessions will be reserved for school groups, though children may also attend at weekends with family members.

The tapestry's journey to London follows years of complex diplomatic negotiations.

Theresa May first announced the loan during a UK-France summit in 2018, with plans for a 2022 display.

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Those arrangements collapsed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, strained Anglo-French relations during Boris Johnson's time as Prime Minister, and worries about the artefact's delicate condition.

The loan was eventually secured when Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron reached an agreement during the French leader's state visit to Britain last year.

The timing proved fortuitous, as the Bayeux Museum in Normandy had closed for renovation work, creating an opportunity for the embroidery to travel.

The piece has been housed at its Normandy home since 1983 and will return there once refurbishment is complete.

The decision to transport the embroidery has attracted significant criticism, with artist David Hockney labelling the move "madness" in The Independent.

He questioned why a museum dedicated to conservation would "gamble on the survival of the most important art image of scale in Europe."

A petition opposing the transfer gathered more than 70,000 signatures, while internal museum documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests described the loan as "the most complex object the museum has ever borrowed — a once in a millennium loan."

Museum director Nicholas Cullinan has sought to reassure critics, pointing to extensive preparations by an Anglo-French conservation team.

The approximately 325-mile journey from Normandy will employ specially designed vibration-dampening equipment, with the route meticulously planned to circumvent potholes.

Mr Cullinan told The Sunday Times in March that conservation expertise should address concerns, adding: "The tapestry is supremely important, and there's a degree of fragility, but I think this is more than offset by the amount of care going into the plans."

The embroidery is thought to have been commissioned during the 1070s by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, who was William the Conqueror's half-brother.

Historians believe a group of nuns based in Canterbury stitched the work onto linen cloth, meaning it is technically an embroidery rather than a tapestry.

Its 58 scenes feature more than 600 human figures and roughly 200 horses, depicting the Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings that saw William seize the English throne from King Harold.

In Bayeux, the cloth was arranged in a U-shape, but London visitors will see it displayed flat in a straight line.