Bayeux Tapestry to be Displayed at the British Museum

A loan agreement has been agreed for the Bayeux Tapestry to come to the British Museum for display in 2026.

In exchange, treasures from the British Museum including Sutton Hoo and the Lewis chess pieces will travel to museums in Normandy, France. The agreement was announced by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron who is currently on a state visit in London. 

The 70m Bayeux Tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, and is due to go on display in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery at the British Museum in the autumn of 2026. The Museum will draw on its own collection as well as other loans in order to tell the 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 1,000 years ago.

"The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most important and unique cultural artefacts in the world and has fascinated people across geographies and generations," said Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the British Museum. " 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."

George Osborne, Chair of the British Museum Trustees, said: "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."