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CultureQuiet 39h · day 7

British Museum bans photography of Bayeux Tapestry days after opening

The museum reversed its initial permission for photos, citing long queues as visitors lingered to take pictures.

newest coverage 1d agosummary written 2d ago17 pieces25 likes & upvotes3 comments NewswiresGoogle NewsBlueskyRedditHacker News

What to know

  • The British Museum banned all photography of the Bayeux Tapestry less than a week after opening, reversing its initial non-flash photography permission.
  • Hundreds of visitors took photos on opening day when it was permitted; the ban came after complaints about long queues caused by people lingering to photograph.
  • The 11th-century embroidery is on loan from Normandy and on display in London for the first time, with tickets sold out until December 31.
  • Some visitors have criticized the ticket prices, which are as much as three times higher than admission in France.

“In order to do this, we have made the decision to restrict photography while people are moving along the length of the tapestry.”

British Museum spokesperson, Museum official · BBC World ↗

British Museum Exhibition hostMaxwell Blowfield Blogger and former museum professional

British Museum bans photography of Bayeux Tapestry days after opening
BBC

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 5 pieces in two hours at Sep 21, 6 AM; 17 pieces over 7 days (12 articles · 3 posts · 2 comments) Sep 17, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 4 PM — quietSep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 2Sep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — 5 pieces · 5 articles — Newswires 5Sep 21, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 21, 10 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Newswires 2, Reddit 1Sep 21, 12 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Sep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — 2 pieces · 2 comments — Reddit 2Sep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quiet 12
Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 4:44 AM ET
  1. 2

    British Museum cites crowd flow as reason for photography ban

    The museum publicly confirmed the policy change, explaining that visitors stopping to take photographs were restricting flow and delaying later visitors in the sold-out exhibition, where groups enter every 40 minutes.

    “There has been enormous interest in viewing the tapestry, and our priority is to ensure that all visitors have the best experience possible. In order to do this, we have made the decision to restrict photography while people are moving along the length of the tapestry.”
    — British Museum spokesperson
    1. 6 outlets British Museum bans visitors from photographing Bayeux Tapestry

      first by BBC Entertainment, 2d ago · also Le Monde EN, Le Monde.fr, Straits Times, France 24 EN, BBC

      2 more headlines
    • margaretmorgan.bsky.social

      I wish more museums banned this. People queuing in front of artworks that they only look at to check the focus on their phones is crazy. Look at it online if all you want is the digital experience. The image will be better. In the museum, be in the moment.

      margaretmorgan.bsky.socialBluesky2d ago22▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch

    • ha! maybe you were the other 2 people in there. I think there were a total of 4 of us. I was actually startled by how empty it was.

      Charlesinrichmondr/europe1d agoview on r/europe ↗

    • For me it’s 10 hours in a car or 16 hours by train each way so a day trip it is not.

      Vehlinr/europe1d agoview on r/europe ↗
    all of them →
  2. 3 days quiet
  3. 1

    Blogger Maxwell Blowfield highlights the policy reversal

    Former museum professional Maxwell Blowfield pointed out the photography ban in a blog post, noting the discrepancy between the permissions on e-tickets and the new signage outside the exhibit.

  4. background

    British Museum reverses photography policy — Less than a week after opening, the museum reversed its photography policy, prohibiting all photography of the Bayeux Tapestry despite the permissions outlined in e-tickets. Signage was posted outside the exhibit announcing the total ban, despite the guidelines already distributed to ticket holders.

  5. background

    Bayeux Tapestry exhibition opens with photography allowed — The British Museum opened the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition to ticket holders, with e-tickets indicating that non-flash photography was permitted. Hundreds of visitors were able to take informal photos of the near-thousand-year-old work on opening day.

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