Tens of thousands of history enthusiasts queued online for hours Monday for a chance to see the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum, with nearly 60,000 people in a digital line for tickets to the once-in-a-generation exhibition.
The 230ft-long embroidered cloth, which famously depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, is returning to the UK for the first time in nearly 1,000 years. Visitors expressed frustration with long wait times on the museum's website, with some reporting that the page crashed when they finally reached the front of the queue.
Tickets for the exhibition, which runs from September to December, went on general sale at 10 a.m. Monday. They were first made available to museum members on June 17, a period that also saw significant website issues and complaints.
The British Museum confirmed that two further ticket releases are scheduled for October and January, offering access from January to March and April to July 2027, respectively. Ticket prices range from £25 to £33.
For the exhibition, the tapestry will be laid flat for the first time in almost two centuries, a move aimed at preventing potential damage that could occur if it were hung from a display rail. It is expected that approximately 7.5 million people will view the artifact during its UK showing.
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This loan of the tapestry, believed to have been created by English embroiderers but housed in France for the last 950 years, is considered a significant cultural exchange between France and Britain. The tapestry has been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy since 1983 and will return there after the exhibition concludes.
Details surrounding the tapestry's transportation are being kept confidential, but British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan indicated it would travel via the Channel Tunnel by land. The exhibition space has been designed to showcase the tapestry in its entirety within a specially constructed glass container, allowing visitors to view it from above and up close.
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The loan was confirmed in July of the previous year during French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Britain. In reciprocal arrangements, French museums are set to host British artifacts, including the Sutton Hoo collection.
George Osborne, chair of trustees at the British Museum, described the tapestry as a "defining piece of our nation's history and a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience." Polling conducted for the museum indicated that over 76% of the public consider 1066 an important part of British history, with 82% supporting school trips to view the tapestry.