British Museum apologises and refunds Bayeux Tapestry visitors: exhibition closed early for Samsung gala

The British Museum in London has apologised to hundreds of visitors to the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition after closing the exhibition early on Wednesday, 30 September, for a gala dinner sponsored by the Samsung corporation, organised to celebrate the opening of the “Korea” exhibition, as The Times reports.

According to The Times, visitors with pre-booked tickets waited up to an hour in a queue before museum staff came out to tell them that no one else would be allowed in. Some of them had travelled thousands of kilometres, including visitors from the United States. A The Times reader, Nick White, 58, who had travelled from East Sussex for the 2:30 p.m. tour, said there were another 200 to 300 ticket holders behind him in the queue who were turned away. In a letter to the newspaper, he wrote: “If a national institution intends to replace booked visitors with private guests, it should at least warn them before they set out.”

Tickets for the 11th-century odyssey — which depicts William the Conqueror’s victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 — cost £33 at peak times in London, compared with €12 in Normandy, where it is normally displayed, The Times notes.

The museum said it has apologised and is offering refunds as well as free rescheduling of tickets to those affected, describing the situation as “isolated”, according to ARTnews. Among the guests at the gala dinner was Princess Anne, and the event was organised by long-term sponsor Samsung for the “Korea” exhibition, which opened to the public on 1 October.

It is the second crisis in a few days for the sold-out Tapestry exhibition: earlier this week, a blind man sued the museum over the lack of audio-described tours, after which the museum promised dedicated audio-described tours.