Bayeux Tapestry in London: queues of up to nine hours to book tickets

Published on 01/07/2026 - 17:41 GMT+2

Up to nine hours of waiting and more than 75,000 people in the queue. Bookings opened on Wednesday 1 July for the London exhibition of the Bayeux Tapestry.

The British Museum, which will host the textile masterpiece, had warned visitors that their website would almost certainly be "very busy". And they were right. When bookings opened at 11 a.m., more than 10,000 people were already in the virtual waiting room.

Around 3 p.m., Euronews noted that the site was showing a queue of more than 76,000 people. "It is still recommended to book online, but waiting times can be up to nine hours," the site warned.

Even so, the website managed to cope with the surge in visitors.

The most expensive tickets for the exhibition, which will run from this September to next July, cost up to £33 (€38.50).

A unique exhibition

This is the first time in 1,000 years that the tapestry has gone on display in a museum other than its Norman home, and only the third time it has left its usual gallery. It was moved during Napoleon's planned military campaigns in England and during the Second World War.

The tapestry, a piece of propaganda depicting William the Conqueror's Norman conquest of England in 1066, was nonetheless produced in England, according to several historians.

A very strict transport protocol has been put in place by curators to allow the 68.38 metres of tapestry to be moved. The thousand-year-old fabric is highly sensitive to vibrations and is already weakened and torn in many places.