It was a complex operation, shrouded in secrecy.
In the dead of the night, the Bayeux Tapestry was chaperoned from Northern France to the British Museum in London under police protection. The convoy transporting it crossed the English channel via the Eurotunnel, taking the priceless cultural artefact straight into London.
The tight security operations were met by the conditions of the transport of the 68 m long embroidery. To protect the fragile medieval masterpiece, conservators had folded it like a curtain and put into a climate-controlled vibration-consistent container with the right temperatures and moisture levels, because experts had warned that the transport could damage the fragile fabric of the embroidery. A government guarantee covers the embroidery at the value of around 900 million euros.
After almost 1,000 years, the tapestry is back on English soil, and it is the first time the tapestry has ever been displayed in the United Kingdom. The transfer has been made possible after one year of negotiations when the French president Macron agreed to loan the tapestry to Britain for 9 months, a move considered important for Franco-British relations after Brexit and as a symbol of trust and friendship between France and the United Kingdom.
The exhibition at the British Museum in London opens on 10 September, 2026, and runs until 11 July 2027. 100,000 tickets were already sold on the first day of sales.
The Bayeux Tapestry, an 11th-century masterpiece, depicts the Battle of Hasting in 1066.
Thought to have been made in England after the Norman Conquest, it is a vivid visual record of the Norman Invasion, depicting 58 scenes of the Norman Conquest by William, Duke of Normandy, of England, which spelled the end of Anglo-Saxon England and changed history.
A visual and powerful artefact, it is central to British history.
British Museum: Everything you need to know about the Bayeux Tapestry
Bayex Museum: Explore the Bayex Tapestry online
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