The Bayeux Tapestry has drawn a bigger rush of spending than Hollywood blockbuster opening mornings or a typical Saturday night out, according to bank data, as the 1,000-year-old embroidery attracts younger culture enthusiasts.
Monzo's customer data showed a surge in spending around the release of the second tranche of public tickets to the British Museum. Thousands joined an online queue when tickets went on sale at 10am last Wednesday, greeted by a message indicating 'more than an hour wait' to secure tickets to see the iconic tapestry at the museum between January and March 2027.
Record Spending Compared to Film Openings
The launch triggered payments to the museum of 48 times that of a normal Wednesday morning, according to Monzo's spending data across its 16 million customers. In the first hour, cardholders spent £14,100 on tickets to the exhibition, double the opening mornings for this year's blockbuster films The Odyssey, at £7,000, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, at £6,300.
Buyers spent five times more on average at the checkout than Spider-Man's opening morning, at £97 versus £19. In the two hours after tickets went on sale, Monzo customers spent £30,500 on tickets, which was 60% more than the combined average Saturday night spend, between 8pm and 4am, across six major UK nightlife venues: Koko, Fabric, Roundhouse, Lakota, Thekla and Sub Club.
Younger Audiences and Nationwide Demand
The exhibition at the London museum has met with a huge surge of interest from people wanting to see the woven record of the Norman Conquest, which returned to the UK for the first time in almost 1,000 years. The British Museum said the response to the Tapestry going on display last month had been "extraordinary", leading it to make changes to address lengthy queues among ticket-holders, including banning visitors from taking photos.
Monzo's data suggested that the buzz has been felt among younger as well as older generations, drawing in crowds of Generation Z and millennial viewers. Some 55% of buyers at the latest sale were under the age of 35, it found. Furthermore, almost half of all buyers were outside of London, with the furthest purchases coming hundreds of miles away from the Glasgow postcode area, the bank said.
Ticket Prices and Exhibition Details
Adult tickets cost £33 during peak periods and £27 off-peak, while students aged 16 to 18 and jobseekers can pay £25. Disabled visitors can also book tickets for £25, with a free ticket for an accompanying assistant. National Art Pass holders pay £16.50, while under-16s go free when booked alongside an adult ticket, with a maximum of four children per adult.
The Bayeux Tapestry returned to Britain for the first time in almost 1,000 years when it went on display at the British Museum on September 10.
