British Museum set to reopen in time for Bank Holiday weekend

Welcome back; The museum reopens after the longest peacetime closure in its 281 year history

The British Museum is to reopen on 27 August after the longest peacetime closure in its 281 year history.

Visitors will need to pre-book a free ticket with just 2000 people a day initially allowed in to the UK’s most popular attraction to maintain social distancing. That is little more than 10 per cent of the average of 18,000 a day before the pandemic that forced a 163 day shutdown.

The Bloomsbury landmark will open for just five hours from 10am to 3pm for the first two days before extending its closing time to 5pm from Saturday 29th. Tickets will be available online or over the phone from 10am next Wednesday.

Visitors will have to follow a new one way route around the ground floor galleries famed for their artefacts from the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Greece, Rome and Assyria, Africa, Mexico and North America.

The tour will allow visitors to take in over 9,000 objects, including some of the most famous exhibits in the Museum including the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon Sculptures. More galleries will reopen later in September.

New Autumn dates have also been confirmed for postponed special exhibitions Tantra: enlightenment to revolution and Arctic: culture and climate.

Grayson Perry’s Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman show will also return to the Museum nine years after sculptor’s major exhibition of the same name.

The Museum’s director Hartwig Fischer said “I am delighted to announce that the British Museum will reopen its doors in time for the summer Bank Holiday weekend. Visitors are our lifeblood, and we have missed them greatly.

“It will be wonderful to welcome them back and I do hope that local, London-wide and UK audiences will take this opportunity to discover, or re-discover, the Museum, exploring some of the most popular galleries in what will be a much quieter environment. And we are looking forward to welcoming back our international visitors as well in due course.”

Richard Lambert, Chair of the Museum’s Trustees, said “It is wonderful news that the Museum will start to reopen in August. The pandemic has of course had a huge impact on us all. We, like many others in the heritage and arts sector, face an extremely challenging financial situation. The Trustees would like to thank the Government for the additional financial support that will help us and the sector to navigate this difficult period. And we just can’t wait to reopen our doors.”

Museums and galleries have been able to reopen since July 4, however a number of venues did not immediately do so.

The Natural History Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and and Tate galleries are among those to have now reopened. The Science Museum is set to welcome back visitors on August 19.