Alistair Hardaker
Image: The British Museum (cc by SA 3.0 Steff)
Director says sold-out event will fund Bayeux Tapestry loan and research projects at Girsu in Iraq, with theme inspired by Ancient India exhibition.
The British Museum’s first ball, set for later this month, will fund international collaborations including the Bayeux Tapestry loan, says its director Nicholas Cullinan.
Little has been revealed to the public about the sold-out event, for which 800 tickets were privately sold.
The Telegraph reports that tickets for the event were priced at £2,000, creating around £1.6m in revenue before costs toward the fundraising effort.
The British Museum said guests will arrive to a drinks reception and speeches in its Great Court, before taking their seats for dinner.
A silent auction will run throughout the evening, also intend to raise funds.
Cullinan told the paper, in an ”ecosystem where people have this type of money, and want to give to a museum, [the ticket price] is pretty reasonable.”
This year, any profit from the event will fund international projects including the Bayeux Tapestry loan, and research projects at Girsu in Iraq.
The event, like the Met Gala, will include a fashion theme. Cullinan said: “the ball coincides with the closing weekend of our Ancient India exhibition, so the theme is pink.”
The theme draws inspiration from the colours and light of India, the museum said presented in conjunction with the British Museum’s critically acclaimed exhibition, Ancient India: Living Traditions.
“It has to be this pink that almost has a bit of purple. It can’t be too blush, or too garish. It can’t be Barbie pink. It’s got to be right,” said Cullinan.
Cullinan was keen to draw a line under Met Gala comparisons. He said the American event is “an incredible event for New York, but London is quite different. It’s important that our ball reflects the British Museum in terms of who’s on the committee and who comes – to make it feel very London.”
The director said he had also been inspired by the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, which he described as “fantastic, quirky and humorous – making you feel proud to be British.
“I don’t think, as a nation, we tend to go around saying, ‘We’re so amazing.’ But it did quietly make you think what an amazing history we’re part of. In a lot of the things that I do, I refer back to that.”
The event takes place on the 18th October 2025.
