The British Museum issued a public apology on September 26 after the first days of its Bayeux Tapestry exhibition were marred by chaos, with visitors holding timed tickets turned away at the door and others forced to cut their visits short after queuing for more than two hours. The apology followed a wave of complaints from frustrated ticketholders who had travelled to London specifically to see the medieval embroidery on its first loan to Britain in nearly a millennium. The viewing experience inside the exhibition has also drawn criticism for its strictness. Photography is banned entirely, and each visitor is limited to a 40-minute slot, conditions imposed as part of the loan agreement with France. The museum has said the time limit is necessary to move the enormous crowds through the gallery safely, but some visitors reported that their allotted time was further reduced as staff worked to clear backlogs at the entrance. The tapestry, the centrepiece of one of the museum's most anticipated exhibitions of the decade, has proved an overwhelming draw. Every ticket is now sold out through the end of 2026, leaving thousands of would-be visitors unable to secure entry. The museum has confirmed that the next release of tickets, covering visits from January to March 2027, will go on sale on October 21. Museum officials acknowledged that demand had exceeded their planning and said lessons would be learned for future blockbuster exhibitions. The loan of the Bayeux Tapestry, agreed at the highest levels between Britain and France, was billed as a once-in-a-generation cultural event. That billing has now become the problem: the museum must manage unprecedented public enthusiasm without compromising the fragile, 950-year-old artefact at the centre of it.