British Museum bans photos of Bayeux Tapestry after visitors stopping to snap it create bottlenecks

From the Newshound archive · first published 21 September 2026 · last updated 22 September 2026.

The British Museum has reversed its own photography policy at the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition less than two weeks after the sold-out show opened on September 10, banning visitors from taking pictures along the 70-metre artefact's length. The ban was triggered by visitors halting to photograph the embroidery and causing serious congestion in the one-way, timed viewing system. Tickets are sold out until October 21 after the museum broke its own all-time sales record — generating more than £2.4 million on the first day tickets went on sale.

The museum initially permitted photography but reversed course when dawdling visitors blocked others in the strictly timed, single-direction flow.

Visitors move through the exhibition in groups on a one-way system, with each visit lasting approximately 40 minutes — a format entirely dependent on people keeping pace.

The tapestry, on loan from France until next July, is making its first-ever visit to Britain in almost 1,000 years, with the loan hailed as a symbol of renewed cross-Channel relations after Brexit.