The Newshound

Ticket holders turned away from Bayeux Tapestry exhibition to make way for Chancellor John Healey's corporate gala dinner

From the Newshound archive · first published 2 October 2026 · last updated 3 October 2026.

Visitors outside the British Museum, where hundreds of ticket-holders paid £50 and were turned away without advance notice when it closed early to host a Samsung corporate gala dinner during the Bayeux Tapestry…
Visitors outside the British Museum, where hundreds of ticket-holders paid £50 and were turned away without advance notice when it closed early to host a Samsung corporate gala dinner during the Bayeux Tapestry…
Princess Anne was among the guests inside the gala while American tourists and other visitors who had travelled thousands of miles were turned away from the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.
Princess Anne was among the guests inside the gala while American tourists and other visitors who had travelled thousands of miles were turned away from the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.
The apology notice handed to turned-away visitors, some of whom had queued for hours to see what is thought to be the tapestry's first visit to British soil in nearly 1,000 years.
The apology notice handed to turned-away visitors, some of whom had queued for hours to see what is thought to be the tapestry's first visit to British soil in nearly 1,000 years.
Sir Ed Davey attended the Samsung-sponsored gala while some visitors turned away from the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition had waited since childhood to see it.
Sir Ed Davey attended the Samsung-sponsored gala while some visitors turned away from the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition had waited since childhood to see it.

Hundreds of visitors who had each paid £50 and queued for the once-in-a-generation Bayeux Tapestry exhibition were cleared out of the British Museum on Wednesday afternoon to accommodate a Samsung-sponsored gala dinner whose guests included Chancellor John Healey, the Princess Royal and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey. Ellen Walker, who said she had been waiting since the age of seven to see the tapestry, wrote that she had fought through an hour-long online queue for tickets, then stood in a 20-minute physical queue, only to be told as she waited that the gallery was closing — signing off: 'The British Museum stinks.' Some among those turned away had travelled from the United States solely to see the embroidery, which has not been on British soil at any point in its nearly 1,000-year history.

Visitors were handed paper notices citing 'space and time restrictions' — with staff quietly admitting a 'private event' was to blame.

The British Museum apologised and offered refunds plus free rescheduled tickets, calling it 'an isolated situation'.

The Samsung dinner was meant to celebrate its Korea exhibition opening, but overrunning schedules caused the clash that locked paying members of the public out.

MoreDaily Mail NewsBayeux Tapestry fans are turned away by British Museum in favour of private gala dinner attended by Chancellor John HealeyGB NewsHundreds of Bayeux Tapestry ticket holders turned away after British Museum closes early for corporate event - GB NewsEvening StandardBayeux Tapestry visitors denied entry to make way for Chancellor’s dinner
Read today's full feed at The Newshound →