Overview
- Inspectors reported on Friday that two broken threads and slight tears were found after the tapestry’s July transfer to the British Museum, and the discovery prompted a detailed conservation review.
- The embroidery will open to the public at the British Museum on 10 September for a loan running through July 2027 and has already generated record ticket sales and heavy online demand.
- Transport teams moved the 11th‑century linen in July in a bespoke climate‑controlled, shock‑absorbing crate folded accordion‑style and carried it through the Channel Tunnel under police escort.
- French culture minister Catherine Pégard and British Museum officials say the artefact’s overall condition is largely unchanged, and a draft bilateral condition report prepared by joint conservators is being finalised.
- The loan forms part of a high‑level Franco‑British cultural agreement and is paired with nationwide outreach including touring Victorian casts, regional displays in places such as Hastings and Rievaulx, and a BBC documentary to broaden public access.