Blind visitor prompts British Museum to improve Bayeux Tapestry access

The Bayeux Tapestry is on display at the British Museum in London for a sell-out exhibition, with the museum now offering an audio-described tour following accessibility concerns raised by a blind visitor. — AFP pic

First Published: Friday, 02 Oct 2026 10:30 AM MYT

LONDON, Oct 2 — The British Museum will provide an audio-described tour of the Bayeux Tapestry after a visually impaired man objected to lack of provision for the blind and partially-sighted.

Yusuf Ali Osman, who is blind, had reportedly said the museum breached equalities laws in its display of the nearly 1,000-year-old artwork on loan from France.

Following the criticism, the museum told AFP in a statement it would be offering “an in-person audio-described tour”.

“We are also exploring including a separate audio-described tour as part of the exhibition’s app-based audio guide,” it added.

Its provisions also include a sensory map.

Excited visitors have been flocking to see the 11th-century masterpiece since the start of the sold-out exhibition earlier last month.

The tapestry, whose permanent home is a museum in Bayeux in northern France, offers an insight into life in England both before and after the invasion by William the Conqueror’s Norman army.

Depicting the 1066 Battle of Hastings, the 70-metre-long (230-foot-long) tapestry is currently being displayed flat in a raised glass cabinet. It is normally hung vertically.

Tickets to the exhibition are sold out until December 31, with a second tranche for viewings until July 11 due to go on sale on October 21. — AFP