Today has seen the signing of a ‘historic’ loan agreement for the Bayeux Tapestry to return to British soil for the first time in almost 1,000 years.
As part of the deal, the British Museum will exchange treasures that represent all four nations of the UK with museums in Normandy, France, including Sutton Hoo and the Lewis chess pieces.
The agreement, which will deliver cultural and educational benefits for citizens in both countries, was announced by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, and signed by British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan.
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings and is due to go on display in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery. The 70-metre-long artefact will be on public view from autumn 2026. The Museum will utilise its collection, as well as other loans, to tell the rich story about this period of history.
This will be the first time that the tapestry has been shown in the UK since it was made, almost a millennium ago. The tapestry is currently housed in The Bayeux Tapestry Museum (La Tapisserie de Bayeux), which is set to undergo major renovations. The world-renowned treasure will return to France the following year in time for the Museum’s reopening.
The British Museum is preparing for record crowds, saying it “is expected to be one of our most popular exhibitions ever”. The institution is currently the UK’s most visited attraction, attracting 6.5 million visitors last year according to the latest ALVA figures.
Profoundly Grateful
Cullinan said: ‘The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most important and unique cultural artefacts in the world, which illustrates the deep ties between Britain and France and has fascinated people across geographies and generations.
“It is hard to overstate the significance of this extraordinary opportunity of displaying it at the British Museum, and we are profoundly grateful to everyone involved. This will be the first time the Bayeux Tapestry has been in the UK since it was made, almost one thousand years ago. We are also delighted to send treasures from the British Museum representing all four nations of the UK – including Sutton Hoo treasures and the Lewis chess pieces – to France in return.
“This is exactly the kind of international partnership that I want us to champion and take part in: sharing the best of our collection as widely as possible – and in return displaying global treasures of the world never seen in London before to a global audience.’
Former UK chancellor and British Museum chair George Osborne, adds: ‘Once in a generation there’s a British Museum exhibition that eclipses all others. Think of the previous ages of Tutankhamun and the Terracotta Warriors. The Bayeux Tapestry will be the blockbuster show of our generation. I know it will capture the imagination of an entire nation.
“There is no other single item in British history that is so familiar, so studied in schools, so copied in art as the Bayeux Tapestry. Yet in almost a thousand years it has never returned to these shores. Next year it will and many, many thousands of visitors, especially schoolchildren, will see it with their own eyes. We are thrilled that the people of France will get to see some of the greatest treasures from all four nations of the United Kingdom.
“We have worked hard at the Museum to make this extraordinary loan possible. I want to thank this government – the ministers, officials and diplomats – for all their help in getting it over the line. It is the most visible expression of a stronger relationship between Britain and France. Merci beaucoup!’
Photo credit: Bayeux Museum
