Those hoping to snare a glimpse of the Bayeux tapestry when it comes to the British Museum this September faced nine-hour online queues, with the £33 tickets sold out within a day.
But the monied guests of a five-star hotel in Covent Garden have not had to go to such arduous lengths to get a view of the nearly 1,000-year-old depiction of William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold II of England at Hastings in 1066.
Those staying at One Aldwych, where rooms cost more than £1,000 a night, are able to get tickets to the tapestry exhibition through a corporate partnership with the British Museum.
Helena Dollimore, the MP for Hastings and Rye, said it was “outrageous” that those who could afford to pay for an expensive hotel room got free access to the exhibition while others had to scramble for tickets.
Dollimore has been negotiating with the museum to get access for children of “1066 country”, which she represents, to see the exhibition free of charge.
Hotel guests are told they can select any date and time during their stay to be prioritised for tickets, and that there are “plenty of tickets”. However, there is a limit of one ticket per guest per stay.
As well as a viewing of the tapestry, guests who book the Bayeux experience also get a themed cocktail and a full English breakfast. The hotel says on its website: “Just a short stroll through Covent Garden and Bloomsbury brings you to the British Museum, our official partner for this landmark season. Here, one of the most anticipated cultural events of our lifetime unfolds: the Bayeux tapestry on view, a loan from France in a historic, once-in-a-generation agreement.”
Dollimore said: “It is outrageous that one of London’s most expensive hotels has been offered this access to the Bayeux tapestry. How can it be right that some are able to pay their way in while others have to scramble for a chance to see this piece of our heritage?”
There has been huge interest in seeing the tapestry in the museum as it has arrived on English shores for the first time since it was made. The first batch of tickets, which are sold out, were for slots between September and December. Two releases will follow in October and January for the remainder of the tapestry’s stay in Britain, which runs until July 2027.
The British Museum said it had its biggest ever day of ticket sales when the first slots were released this summer, with bookings for the exhibition bringing in more than £2.5m.
The tapestry has been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux in Normandy since 1983 and will return there when the museum reopens after renovation.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has faced a strong backlash for allowing the loan to go ahead, with critics saying he ignored expert advice that the artefact was too fragile to be transported to the UK.
A British Museum spokesperson said: “As a corporate partner, One Aldwych are entitled to a small quota of tickets to the exhibition and are able to offer these to their hotel guests at their discretion.
“The vast majority of tickets to see the Bayeux tapestry exhibition are for the public and the full exhibition run is not sold out … There are two further scheduled opportunities to buy tickets to see the exhibition from January to July next year and we will be announcing the dates when these will go on sale shortly.
“We also have special views assigned for schools to see the exhibition and all under-16s tickets are free when attending with an adult.”
One Aldwych has been contacted for comment.
