Bayeux tapestry arrives on British shores for ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ exhibition | Bayeux tapestry

Like the man he described as having conquered England almost a thousand years ago, the Bayeux tapestry crossed the Channel in the dead of night, in as much secrecy as possible, and landed on the south coast of the country early the next day.

The work’s arrival on Friday marked its first return to the UK in nearly 1,000 years, and British Museum staff will begin preparing the work for exhibition during its year-long loan.

Nicholas Cullinan, director of the museum, said: “Watching the textiles arrive at the museum is a moment I will never forget and I look forward to the exhibition taking shape over the coming weeks and welcoming its first visitors through our doors this September.”

He added: “This was a tremendous effort from our colleagues at the British Museum and our partners in the UK and France.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said the loan showed what France and Britain “can achieve when they join forces.” Don’t write in the TimesHe said the loan was “a concrete expression of our long-standing friendship and a sign of our common desire for France and the United Kingdom to build their future together.”

UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: “Make no mistake, this is a historic moment and an important act of friendship as we bring this iconic landmark back to Britain for the first time in almost 1,000 years.

“This exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about this important period in our national story and our shared heritage and friendship with France that continues to this day. I am delighted to welcome this tapestry back to British shores.”

Metropolitan and Kent police forces escorted the delicate 11th-century work from Folkestone to London in what the British Museum called “one of the most significant international museum loans ever received between the two countries”.

Driving through the empty streets of London, he arrived just before 3am in a large yellow truck. The covert operation was the result of years of negotiations, difficult logistical planning and much technical work to ensure the integrity of the 70-metre-long (230 ft) medieval artwork.

The work was folded accordion-style inside a climate-controlled case, housed in a shock-absorbing cradle. It hit a lorry traveling on a shuttle train from France via the Channel tunnel.

After the 11-hour journey, the truck slowly entered the loading area at the museum, where workers lowered the container to the ground. Museum staff and British and French diplomats, who watched in silence, applauded.

The priceless cargo will spend several days acclimating before being carefully unpacked and opened for what the British Museum expects to be one of the most popular exhibitions in its 267-year history.

It was stated that demand to see the “once-in-a-generation exhibition” was at an unprecedented level, with approximately 100,000 tickets sold on the first day it went on sale this month.

Around 7.5 million people are expected to go see the work during its stay in London, from September this year to July 2027. The work has been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux, Normandy, since 1983 and will return there when the museum reopens after its renovation.

Cullinan said: “It was like trying to buy tickets to Glastonbury. I don’t think people care that much about 1,000-year-old embroidery. I think it’s great.”

Sewn with wool on linen fabric – so it is actually an embroidery, not a tapestry – the artwork depicts the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, where William, Duke of Normandy defeated King Harold’s Anglo-Saxon army. The invasion ended Saxon rule, made William the Conqueror the first Norman king of England, and tied Britain and France closer together.

Historians believe that the tapestry was commissioned by William’s half-brother, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, and was probably sewn by women (possibly nuns) in England before crossing the Channel. Except for two brief periods when it was exhibited in the Louvre in Paris, it has spent most of the last millennium in the town of Bayeux in northwestern France.