The British Museum's second annual Red Ball, its star-studded fundraising gala held on 17 October, played out against a backdrop of pro-Palestine protest. Around 60 demonstrators from Energy Embargo for Palestine gathered outside the museum's main entrance as high-profile guests including Maya Jama, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mick Jagger and London mayor Sadiq Khan arrived, while messages reading "Drop BP" and "Blood Ball" were projected across the building's facade throughout the evening.

The campaign group is calling on the institution to end what it describes as "unethical partnerships with oil giants and tech billionaires". A spokesperson told the heavily policed crowd that the British Museum had a track record of partnering with the Israeli Embassy — which staged an Independence Day event at the museum last May — and urged it to end its sponsorship deal with BP, signed in 2023 and worth £50m. Hedge fund billionaire Igor Tulchinsky, whose links to the Israel Defense Forces have been scrutinised and who reportedly contributed £5m towards the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition, served as the gala's honorary chair.

Inside the ball, a guest, Georgie Robertson, staged her own intervention, wearing a dress emblazoned with the words "Return the Marbles" in protest over the ownership of the Parthenon Marbles. She said the sculptures "must be reunited" with those at the Acropolis Museum in Athens and that Britain's national museum should reflect modern values rather than what she called the legacy of colonial violence and looting.

The Red Ball was conceived as Britain's answer to the Met Gala, with this year's theme of red running through the museum's upcoming exhibitions, including the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry from France. No arrests were reported at the protest, and a British Museum spokesperson said the institution allows peaceful protest onsite provided there is no risk to the collection, staff or visitors.