Bayeux tickets vanish in three hours

The British Museum sold out its latest batch of tickets for the Bayeux tapestry exhibition in three hours on Wednesday, a pace of demand that museum staff are calling extraordinary.

Spending data from Monzo reveals the intensity of the rush. Cardholders paid a total of £14,100 during the first hour alone, a figure that is 48 times higher than the amount typically recorded on a Wednesday morning.

The bank noted that 55% of these initial buyers were under the age of 35. Within two hours of the 10am release, total spending by its 16 million customers reached £30,500.

Monzo compared these figures to the opening mornings of two major films released earlier this year. Spending on the exhibition was roughly double that of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which saw cardholder spending of £7,000 and £6,300 respectively.

The higher total for the museum is partly due to price and volume. The average checkout for the tapestry tickets was £97, compared to £19 for the Spider-Man film. Adult admission for the exhibition ranges from £27 off-peak to £33 at peak times, well above the cost of a cinema ticket.

The online queue attracted thousands of people when sales opened. Demand came from across the country, with nearly half of buyers located outside London. The farthest transactions recorded came from Glasgow, marking the first time the 1,000-year-old embroidery has been displayed in England since the 11th century.

The rapid sellout has led to comparisons with the ticket rushes for the Oasis reunion tour and Glastonbury festival. In response to the crowds, the museum has introduced a ban on visitor photography to help manage lines for ticket holders.