Portugal Colonial - British Museum schedules new Bayeux Tapestry ticket release

The British Museum will release another allocation of tickets for its Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at 10:00 on October 21. The sale will cover visits from January through March 2027, after the initial allocation sold out through the end of 2026.

The 70-metre, or 229ft, linen work depicts the Norman Conquest and was made about 960 years ago. It arrived from France in July and will be shown in Room 30, the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, from September 10, 2026, until July 11, 2027. Organisers expect about 7.5 million visitors.

Bookings will be limited to 10 tickets. Adult admission will cost £33 at peak times, £27 off peak and £25 for the final weekday slot. People under 16 may enter free with an adult, while Art Fund National Art Pass holders will pay £16.50.

The museum has also introduced priority booking for members. Individual membership costs £82, and existing members may book two visits during the exhibition without an additional charge and receive a 10% discount on further visits during public hours.

A promotional film features broadcaster and museum trustee Claudia Winkleman as a security employee confronting a staged Norman invasion. Produced with Spacebar, it combines visual effects with more than 30 historical re-enactors.

The museum recorded its largest single day of ticket sales when general admission opened, taking more than £2.4 million in the first 24 hours. Later allocations will cover the final months. The tapestry will return to Normandy, where it has been displayed at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum since 1983, after that museum’s renovation.

T.Resende--PC