The British Museum has announced plans for a nationwide programme to accompany its landmark exhibition of the Bayeux Tapestry, which will travel to the UK for the first time in nearly a millennium. The 70-metre embroidery, which chronicles the Norman conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066, will go on display in London from September 2026 to July 2027.
The project marks one of the most significant international loans in recent museum history. John Stokes, the museum’s Dorset Foundation head of national programmes, said the institution is seeking partners across the UK to create “a truly national moment that can reach all parts of the UK.” The initiative will include digital commissions, participatory projects, and support for regional exhibitions that connect to the themes of the tapestry.
The Bayeux loan follows a high-level cultural agreement brokered this summer between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. In return, the British Museum will send a group of its most celebrated treasures to France, among them the Sutton Hoo helmet, the Lewis chessmen, the Mold gold cape and the Dunaverney flesh hook.
Nicholas Cullinan, the museum’s recently appointed director, has addressed growing concerns about the logistics and conservation risks involved in transporting the fragile textile. In a letter to The Guardian, he stressed that “experts on both sides of the Channel have been carrying out rigorous planning and due diligence to ensure the safe transport and conservation of the tapestry.”
Preparations are already underway in Normandy, where the tapestry is undergoing assessment ahead of its removal. Its home institution, the Bayeux Museum, is itself preparing for a significant redevelopment, creating a window of opportunity for the work to travel. Cullinan confirmed that the transport will involve “a full dry run of the journey,” with specialist teams overseeing every stage.
Once in London, the tapestry will be displayed on a specially engineered horizontal mount – a state-of-the-art table designed to stabilise and preserve the work while offering audiences a striking new vantage point. This custom structure will later be transferred to the Bayeux Museum when it reopens, extending the legacy of the project beyond its UK debut.
For George Osborne, chair of the British Museum trustees, the exhibition represents an unprecedented cultural moment. “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,” he said. “Yet in almost a thousand years, it has never returned to these shores. This will be the blockbuster show of our generation.”
The British Museum is determined that the Bayeux loan will not be confined to Bloomsbury. Its National Programmes team is coordinating opportunities for museums and galleries across the country to participate, either through satellite projects or digital engagement. The tapestry’s imagery – from the comet over Harold’s head to the cavalry charges of William the Conqueror – has entered the national imagination, and the museum wants the exhibition to resonate far beyond its walls.
The call for partners is part of a broader push by the British Museum to strengthen its national role. Alongside the Bayeux initiative, the National Programmes team has announced a new Spotlight Loan, Arctic Expressions, which will tour three venues from late 2026. That exhibition will examine the cultural histories of Arctic peoples, connecting contemporary concerns about climate and identity to one of the world’s most challenging environments.
For institutions interested in hosting either programme, online information sessions are scheduled for 29 September, 1 October and 2 October. Stokes has invited museums across the country to come forward, noting that the aim is to create “a national framework that allows communities everywhere to engage with these objects and their histories.”
The Bayeux Tapestry remains one of Europe’s most recognisable works of medieval art. Stitched in coloured wool on linen, it offers not only a vivid narrative of conquest but also a rare insight into the material culture, weaponry, and imagination of the eleventh century. Its loan to the UK has been discussed for decades, but repeatedly stalled over conservation concerns. That the agreement has now been secured is being hailed as a diplomatic and curatorial breakthrough.
For British audiences, the chance to see the tapestry on home soil promises to be an extraordinary event. For regional museums, the opportunity to participate in the National Programme offers a means to connect local histories to one of the most famous narratives of the medieval world. And for the British Museum itself, the project signals a renewed effort to share its collections and partnerships more widely at a time when questions over its global role are sharper than ever.
Museums interested in joining the Bayeux Tapestry National Programme or in hosting Arctic Expressions can contact John Stokes at the British Museum.