British Museum bans visitors from photographing Bayeux Tapestry

British Museum bans visitors from photographing Bayeux Tapestry The British Museum has prohibited photography of the Bayeux Tapestry after determining that visitors were spending excessive time viewing the work, which caused queues and delayed ticket‑holders from entering the exhibition. Curators had initially allowed photos but reversed that decision once long lines began to impede access. The medieval embroidery, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is being shown in Britain for the first time. Visitors are admitted to the sold‑out exhibition in groups every 40 minutes and instructed to keep moving along the 68‑metre (230‑foot) display in a single direction. However, individuals stopping to take photographs were obstructing the flow and delaying later visitors. A British Museum spokeswoman said: "There has been tremendous involvement successful viewing the tapestry, and our precedence is to guarantee that each visitors person the champion acquisition possible. "In bid to bash this, we person made the determination to restrict photography portion radical are moving on the magnitude of the tapestry." The 11th‑century artwork — which is not a true tapestry but was embroidered in England — is currently on loan from its home in Normandy, France, and will remain on display in London until July 2027. Museum officials chose to present the embroidery in a single, straight line rather than the horseshoe‑shaped arrangement used in Bayeux. The loan was confirmed after a Franco‑British summit in 2025, following years of planning between the two nations. Under the agreement, the British Museum covers the transport costs while the UK government provides security. The artefact was packed in a climate‑controlled crate and accompanied by a police escort on the unprecedented 350‑mile (560‑kilometre) journey from Normandy to central London. Some prospective visitors have criticised the ticket prices, noting they are as much as three times the cost of seeing the original in France, arguing the fees are intended to offset the museum’s expenses. Tickets for the exhibition are sold out through 31 December, with additional releases expected in October. A full‑scale replica of the Bayeux Tapestry is available to view free of charge at Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire and at Reading Museum (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cked7zjjqn60o).