The Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the 1066 Battle of Hastings, has returned to the UK for the first time in almost a millennium, now on display at the British Museum. The exhibition, set to open on September 10, has already made history with the biggest single-day ticket sales the museum has ever seen, attracting online queues of 80,000.
This loan of the 70-metre embroidery, in exchange for UK treasures from Sutton Hoo, is described as a symbol of post-Brexit Anglo-French rapprochement. The move was reportedly made possible because the tapestry needed to be relocated for renovations at the Bayeux Museum in Normandy.
Despite some curators and restorers expressing concerns about the risks of the transfer, and an online petition against the move gathering nearly 80,000 signatures, the political will to bring the tapestry to London prevailed. The tapestry will return to France next year for the 1,000th anniversary of William the Conqueror’s birth.