- Bayeux Tapestry tickets sold out for September-December 2026 within two days of release
- Over 80,000 people joined the online queue, with wait times up to nine hours
- Museum generated over £2.5 million in a single day, breaking all prior box office records
- The exhibition displays the 70-metre tapestry flat and continuous for the first time
- Further ticket releases cover January-July 2027, with peak tickets at £33
Tickets for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum sold out for September to December 2026 within two days of release, with more than 80,000 people joining the online queue and the museum recording its biggest ever ticketing day with over £2.5 million in sales. When tickets first went on sale on 1 July 2026, the museum generated an unprecedented £2.5 million ($3.3 million) in a single day, breaking all prior box office records.
The blockbusting demand caused a ticket frenzy, with the online queue peaking at over 80,000 people, while the museum’s website experienced 4.7 times its average daily traffic and wait times stretching up to nine hours. The 70-metre-long masterpiece, which depicts the 1066 Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest, is being displayed on English soil for the first time since it was crafted nearly 1,000 years ago.
The exhibition officially opens to the public on 10 September 2026 and will run through 11 July 2027 inside the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery. For the first time ever, the fragile 11th-century embroidery will be displayed in one continuous, completely flat length inside a custom-built, climate-controlled case. Tickets for admission between 1 January and 31 March 2027 go on sale on 21 October 2026, with final release for April through July 2027 available in early 2027. Peak standard tickets cost £33, while off-peak slots are £25–£27, with children under 16 admitted free but requiring a pre-booked time slot.
British Museum shared “The blockbusting demand caused a ticket frenzy, with the online queue peaking at over 80,000 people”
