Osborne helped secure US$6.6m gift for Bayeux Tapestry show
George Osborne helped secure a US$6.6 million sponsorship from billionaire Igor Tulchinsky for the British Museum in London's Bayeux Tapestry exhibition, according to ARTnews.
The gift underwrites the loan display of the historic textile. The museum says the exhibition was made possible by Tulchinsky's generous support. The dates are set.
It will open to the public on 10 September 2026 and run until 11 July 2027, according to the British Museum. Tulchinsky is described as a Belarusian-American hedge fund billionaire, meaning he made his money running a private investment pool for wealthy clients.
Emails indicate Osborne facilitated the museum's first approach to Tulchinsky through a Tulchinsky-linked hedge fund in New York, according to Middle East Eye. The messages trace the introduction back to Osborne. They do not, on their own, detail the full negotiation.
The museum's internal checks raised "no concerns" over Tulchinsky as a sponsor, according to documents seen by Middle East Eye. Due diligence, the background checks museums run on large donors, is standard for gifts of this size. The finding has drawn attention as the sponsorship has faced public scrutiny.
Part of the funding is earmarked to help schools visit the display, according to The Art Newspaper. That means subsidised access for pupils to see the work in person.
For visitors, this means a long-planned loan now has private money behind it and a firm run. The tapestry tells the story of the Norman conquest of England in stitched panels. London will hold it for ten months.
