Portugal Colonial - Bayeux Tapestry begins epic journey from France to London: source

The fragile 68-metre (224-foot) embroidered tapestry has left its home in Bayeux in a high-tech container designed to eliminate vibrations and maintain a steady temperature and humidity, the source said.

It is expected to cross the Channel between France and the UK via the undersea railway link in a climate-controlled truck under police protection.

The loan to the British Museum is a diplomatic gesture intended to underscore Franco-British friendship and marks the first time the tapestry has moved from France in more than 900 years.

The artwork tells the story of the Norman invader William the Conqueror who crossed the Channel and defeated the English king Harold in the 1066 Battle of Hastings, changing the course of English history.

Starting from September 10, visitors at the British Museum will be able to view the UNESCO-listed masterpiece in an exhibition that runs until July 2027.

Some experts had voiced concerns that the complicated transfer -- funded by the UK for an undisclosed amount -- risked causing irreversible damage to a work already weakened by 30 tears and nearly 10,000 holes.

A 2021 study by restoration experts warned of the "additional risks" that a trip lasting more than two hours would pose to the tapestry.

But when French President Emmanuel Macron announced the loan almost exactly a year ago, he brushed aside the warnings to celebrate Franco-British relations, 10 years after the bitter Brexit referendum.

Since then, several technical studies and two test trips with a full-scale reproduction of the tapestry have been undertaken to meet the logistical challenge of transporting a work as delicate as lace.

- High demand -

The tapestry will be laid flat for viewing in a specially made, raised glass case.

The British Museum sold a record 100,000 tickets for the exhibition, costing between £25-33 for adults, on the day they went on sale earlier this month.

After the first tranche sold out so quickly, more tickets will go on sale later in the year.

Last September, conservators completed a tricky operation to remove the Bayeux Tapestry from its museum in northwestern Normandy, which it had not left since 1983, to a secret storage location.

Plans to loan it to London had been considered twice before, but both were aborted: in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and in 1966 for the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.

M.A.Vaz--PC