Inaugural fundraising event raises capital while newly announced gift supports visitor welcome pavilions programme.
The British Museum’s inaugural Ball has raised millions to support the its international partnerships.
The Ball raised more than £2.5m in total, a figure that incorporates the support of table hosts and guests, donations made on the night, and proceeds from the Ball’s silent auction.
A further £10.3m pledge from the Garfield Weston Foundation was announced during the event, which will be used for the museum’s Visitor Welcome Programme. It includes new Visitor Welcome Pavilions at both the North and South entrances. Chair of Trustees George Osborne announced the funding during speeches in the Great Court.
The speech was temporarily interrupted when a protestor took to the stage, unfurling a banner which appeared to read ‘Drop BP Now’.
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Chaired by arts patron and businesswoman Isha Ambani, alongside Director Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, the Ball welcomed nearly 900 guests on 18th October 2025, 70% of whom were new to the museum.
The Ball’s proceeds will be used to support the international partnerships, which include projects and collaborations with institutions from Ghana to Armenia, Iraq to India.
Guests in attendance included Sir Mick Jagger, Janet Jackson, Maya Jama, Sir Steve McQueen, the Mayor of London and members of the Ball Committee including Naomi Campbell, Edward Enninful OBE, Dame Tracey Emin, and Sir Grayson Perry.
Its silent auction offered lots including a pet portrait by artist and museum trustee Dame Tracey Emin, behind-the-scenes tours of the museum’s scientific research laboratories, and the Greek and Roman collections with Dame Professor Mary Beard.
Other prizes included an opportunity to be among the first to see the Bayeux Tapestry when it arrives on loan next year, and a private dinner and tour of the British Museum, personally led by its director Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE.
Cullinan said the event represented an “unprecedented level of interest, an extraordinary fundraising sum, and a renewed sense of the mission we are on to transform this remarkable institution. “
