British Museum chair says Parthenon sharing deal is still possible

George Osborne, chairman of the British Museum in London, says Greece and Britain can still reach a deal over the Parthenon Sculptures.

He spoke on 14 October 2026 and said he was optimistic an agreement was still possible, despite diplomatic tensions around the contested works. Bloomberg reported his comments first, with ARTnews also reporting his optimism about a deal.

The hope, as Osborne put it, is for sharing. The sculptures — marble carvings from the Parthenon temple in Athens, also widely called the Parthenon Marbles — would be seen in both cities. London and Athens. That is the shape of the arrangement he has described: works on display in Britain and in Greece, rather than in one place only.

Osborne knows the politics as well as the museum. He is a former U.K. Treasury chief, and he has chaired the British Museum in London since 2021. The museum itself describes its Greek holdings as including important sculpture from the Parthenon in Athens, according to its annual report. British Museum

This is not a new position. Osborne said in February 2023 that he was "reasonably optimistic" about a deal, AP reported at the time. Reuters reported then that he envisaged the Marbles being seen both in London and in Athens. His 2023 trustees dinner speech used similar language, referring to an agreement that would let the sculptures be seen in Athens as well as London.

What makes this stand out is the timing. Osborne is repeating the message while the dispute is still live. No agreement has been announced. No loan dates, no object list and no legal mechanism have been published.

For visitors, this matters because location decides access. To realise that kind of sharing, Athens and London would need to agree who holds what, for how long, and under what law. That paperwork is where this story will be decided. Until then, the sculptures stay where they are, and the talks stay where they have been for years: hopeful, public, and unfinished.